


Back To Your Heart

by BradyPom5



Series: Back To Your Heart Trilogy [1]
Category: Backstreet Boys
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2019-01-07 06:54:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 27,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12227835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BradyPom5/pseuds/BradyPom5
Summary: Brian, AJ, Howie, and Nick follow their hearts and find true love that was right in front of their face all along.





	1. Chapter 1

Back To Your Heart

 

Amanda woke up with a start. “Oh crap!” She shouted as she realized that she had overslept…again. This wouldn’t keep happening; she told herself, if she could just get him out of her head and get some sleep at night. Thankfully, she managed to shower, get herself dressed, and get in the car by 7:30. She still had more than enough time to get herself to the school. A day’s worth of teaching first graders should help to keep her mind off of him. The him being her ex-fiancé Brian. It had been over a year since he walked right out of her life to be a “star”. Why did she keep letting him play with her mind like this? It didn’t help matters that he and his group, the Backstreet Boys, had the biggest hit song on radio at the moment. “The Backstreet Boys, what a stupid name anyway!” She thought to herself. As if on cue, the DJ on the radio announced, “here it is folks, the song everyone has been requesting this morning, ‘Back To Your Heart’ by the Backstreet Boys. By the way, don’t forget that all four guys will be in town this Saturday for a special homecoming performance! Tickets are on sale now!”  
Amanda thought, “Oh no! This can’t be happening to me! I was just getting over him and now their coming to town! What the hell am I going to do!” Amanda didn’t have time to think. As she looked up from the steering wheel she realized that there was a deer frozen in the road. She honked her horn, but it was too late. The deer, and her car were history. “Lovely, what the hell am I gonna do now! I just hope Stacey hasn’t left for work yet.” She picked up her cell phone and dialed her friend and roomate, Stacey.   
“Stacey, I need a huge favor!”  
“What’s wrong?”  
“I kinda hit a deer on the way to school, would there be any way you could give me a ride?”  
“Sure, but what are you going to do with your car?”   
“Have it towed.”  
“How long will the tow truck take?”  
“They said about an hour.”  
“Who exactly is going to wait for them?”  
“Um…”  
“Oh good grief, you’re lucky I still have some sick days left.”  
“I owe you one, big time.”  
“You don’t have to tell me that.”  
Stacey arrived not a moment too soon and drove Amanda to Madison Rural Elementary. She was substituting for Mrs. Baxter, which she had done several times in the past. The kids in the class were great. This was a good thing considering she was running on about an hour and a half of sleep. On the way there Stacey asked, “How did you manage to hit a deer?”  
“I zoned out for a minute, okay?”  
“Let me guess, they played your new favorite song on the radio and then they said   
that Brian was coming to town this weekend.”  
“How do you know these things?”  
“I was listening to the radio just before you called.”  
“Oh. Well, as far as I’m concerned this weekend will be just like any other   
weekend. Brian can come, sing his little sappy pathetic love songs and get back   
on his stinking tour bus and drive back to wherever he came from.”  
“Okay.”  
Amanda can’t help but notice that Stacey has that look. Amanda knew the look all too well. It was the look that told Amanda that while Stacey was pretending to listen to her, she really had plans of her own. Finally, the two ladies arrive at the school right on time, somehow or another. Amanda thanks Stacey profusely for giving her a ride and missing a day of work and walks into the school. “Oy”, Amanda thought, “give me 25 six year olds any day, but is it too much to ask that this one guy not be coming to town this weekend or ever? UGH!”  
Little does Amanda know, Stacey did not go straight home after the tow truck got there. No, for some reason she was pulling into the parking lot at Kroger. “Sometimes people just need a little push”, Stacey thought, as she walked up to the front desk.   
“Can I help you?” The salesperson asked  
“Sure. I need two tickets to the Backstreet Boys show this weekend. The best   
Seats you have.”  
“Big fan huh?”  
“I like their music. It’s my friend that will really appreciate these tickets.”  
“Well, I have good news for you both. I just refunded two tickets. The seats   
are front row, center. How does that sound?”  
“Sounds great!”  
“I hope your friend will be happy!”  
“Oh, she will be…eventually”, Said Stacey as she walked out the front door. Now all she had to do was figure out a way to gently tell Amanda about where they would be that weekend…oh yea, and hope Amanda didn’t kill her in the process.   
For some reason the kids in Mrs. Baxter’s class were a bit more rambunctious that day than they had ever been before. So, naturally, when Amanda got home she was ready to take a quick bath, throw on her pajamas and lay on the couch until it was time to go to bed. However, this was hard to do with Stacey sitting in the living room grinning at her like a goon. At first Amanda shrugs it off and goes into her room to get her pajamas. To her surprise, Stacey follows her. Bewildered, Amanda asks, “What’s the matter?”   
“Nothing, I just have something to tell you.”  
“I knew something was up when you didn’t say one word to me in the car. Don’t   
tell me it’s going to cost a fortune to fix my car, I really can’t afford that right   
now.”  
“No, I took it to your Uncle’s shop. He knows you’re broke as a joke and gave you a nice family discount. You can pick up your car tomorrow evening.”  
“Oh good! Well, if it’s not that, then why are you acting so goofy?”  
“I have something to tell you. You may get mad at first, but you have to promise   
not to kill me until you hear me out.”  
“Fine. Oh lord! What did you do?”  
“Well, I didn’t come straight home after I dropped you off today.”  
“Really? Where did you go?”  
“Kroger.”  
“Kroger? Why? We just got groceries yesterday.”  
“I know, but, um….okay, do you remember when I drove you to school this   
morning and you said you owe me big time?”  
“Yea, so?”  
“Well, try to keep an open mind when I tell you this. I bought two concert tickets.”  
Amanda instantly knew she was not going to like where this conversation was   
going. “May I ask which concert?”  
Stacey could see Amanda’s eyes starting to glaze over. She knew she had to choose her next words carefully. “The Backstreet Boys.”  
“You did WHAT!!!!!!”  
“Well, you were the one that told me not so long ago that you still think about   
Brian all the time. What could be the harm in going to that concert and seeing   
him again. I didn’t say you had to sleep with him! Hell, you don’t even have to  
talk to him, we’ll just slip in, see the show, and leave.”  
“WHERE ARE OUR SEATS?!”  
“Ffffffront rrrrrow.”  
“WHAT!!!”   
“Ccccccenter.”  
“Oh, that’s just lovely, what the hell am I going to do now? Oh wait, never mind,   
I know what I’m going to do now. I’m staying my ass home and it looks like   
you’ll be going by yourself! Excuse me!”  
With that, Amanda marched herself into the bathroom and starting running the water in the bathtub. She hoped that a nice bubble bath would help to keep her mind off Brian and this whole catastrophe, but hay, even she had to admit that nothing helped to keep him off her mind these days. She hadn’t been the same since he walked away. She hated herself for admitting it, but she missed him terribly. Sometimes she would lay awake at night and remember what it felt like when he held her in his arms. She felt like nothing could ever come between him. “What a lie”, she thought. Something certainly did come between them. When Brian’s friend, A.J. had called and asked him to join the Backstreet Boys he didn’t think twice about leaving her. She could still remember what he said the day he left.  
“Don’t worry baby. It’s just for the Summer. We’ll sing at Disney World a few times and that will be it. I’ll be home in two months, three months tops.”  
Needless to say, she hadn’t seen Brian since. After four months had passed, she began hearing their first song on the radio. She finally had to face the fact that Brian wasn’t coming back. So, she threw herself in her work. She was a pretty darn good teacher, substitute or not. She was working almost every day. So, she supposed, life was working out for both her and Brian. Yea, she was really happy. Amanda chose to ignore the pain in her chest and the emptiness she felt as she tried to convince herself that work was enough and that she wasn’t lonely. Moments later, she emerged from the bathroom and began looking for her old bunny slippers. She finally found them in the top of her closet. However, when she pulled them down, something else fell out of the closet. It was a ring box. Amanda knew what was in that ring box all too well. It was the ring that Brian had given her. She picked up the box and sat down on the bed. She allowed herself to open the box, though her instincts told her it was a bad idea. Seeing that ring for the first time in two years brought back a flood of memories. She could still remember the night that Brian had given her that ring. He had made her a picnic in the park. Okay, maybe he hadn’t actually made the picnic. Truth be told, Colonel Sanders did most of the cooking that day. None the less, he had laid out a blanket for them to sit on and put a vase of flowers in the middle. It was the sweetest thing Amanda had ever seen. They had been dating over a year at that time and Amanda hoped that someday Brian would ask her to marry him. When he finally did, she knew exactly what to say. After she said yes, they were both so happy. It was after midnight and the park was vacant. That was the first night that she and Brian made love. It was a night she would never forget.  
At that, Amanda was startled out of her daydream by a knock at the door. She quickly hid the ring under her pillow and said, “Come in!”   
Stacey came in saying, “I don’t know why you’re being so hard-headed. You don’t even know the whole story. Maybe Brian misses you as much as you miss him.”  
“Sure, that would be why my phone has been ringing off the hook.”  
“Look, all I’m saying is, you owe it to yourself to go to this concert and see if   
there’s still something between you two.”  
“I don’t need to go to the concert. There is nothing between Brian and me   
anymore.”  
“Oh, really?”  
At that, Stacey picks up the pillow and finds the ring box Amanda had been hiding. “If there’s nothing between the two of you, why do you still have this?”  
“I just, well, I mean…oh, fuck it!” At that, Amanda starts to cry.  
“Look, I know how much you love Brian, why not give it one more chance before  
you throw in the towel altogether. If you want, we can watch the concert and   
come home as if nothing happened.”  
“Fine! You win!”  
“I didn’t do it for you.”  
“Sure you didn’t”  
“Okay, I did. Still, I wouldn’t mind seeing his friend A.J. up close and personal.”  
“I hope you two live happily ever after.”  
Stacey rolls her eyes and leaves the room.

-Meanwhile, in Orlando-  
“So, Brian, are you looking forward to the concert this weekend?” asked A.J.  
Brian knew what A.J. was getting at, but decides playing dumb is a good idea.  
“Sure, it will be nice to be back in my hometown.”  
“Oh really, you aren’t expecting any special ladies?”  
“What special ladies?”  
“Well, one lady in particular.”  
“A.J., don’t start this shit again. I’ve told you a million times it has been over between me and Amanda for a really long time now. She won’t be at the concert and even if she were, I have no interest in getting back with her.” Brian tried to ignore the voice in his head telling him how much he missed the only woman he ever loved.  
“Dude, all I’m saying is, maybe you should talk to her. You know, hear her side of the story? You might be surprised.”  
“I doubt it.”  
“Maybe the guy you saw her with was just a friend, hell, maybe even a family member.”  
“They didn’t look like family to me.”  
“What, you can’t hug your family? Your grandmamma is gonna be pissed the next time you come to visit and you tell her you can’t hug her, just sayin’.”  
“You don’t know anything about this situation, so drop it.”  
“Dude, she’s not Samantha.”  
“Who said anything about Samantha?” The thought of Samantha made Brian’s skin crawl.  
“Look, I know how much it hurt you when she cheated on you but Amanda isn’t like that, I’m tellin’ you.”  
“How would you know?”  
“Let’s just say I have a feeling and leave it at that.”  
“Well, it’s over. That’s the end of it.”  
“Fine, I give up. Wish I could find a good woman like that. I sure wouldn’t be as hard-headed as you.”  
At that, Brian storms off, gets into his brand new BMW and drives away.

-The Day of the Concert-  
Amanda is sound asleep when she is awakened by a loud pounding on her bedroom door. “Amanda! I’m off to the auditorium! Your ass better be ready when I get back in four hours!”  
“Stacey, have you taken leave of your senses! Of course I’ll be up in plenty of time for the catastrophe that you have dragged me into!”  
“Fine, but if you’re not ready when I get back I’ll make you go in your bra and undies!”  
“I could care less what I wear anyway, I don’t even want to go!”  
“Whatever!”  
At that, Stacey leaves the house to go to the set of her play, “A Guy Like Me”. Every year the local theater company puts on a play to benefit cancer research. However, this particular play was such a hit, they kept it going for two years. This afternoon was the final performance, so Stacey had to go. She assured Amanda that she would be back in time for the concert. Of course, Amanda blew her off, claiming not to care. Truth be told, she’d love to see Brian again, if only for a moment. She could pretend that the past year had been a bad dream and that she and Brian were still going to be married. So much for dreams, she thought.  
Little do any of them know, all four Backstreet Boys are already in town and looking for some local entertainment to keep them busy before their show that night. So, Brian, A.J., Howie, and Nick all decide to check out the play at the local auditorium. They take their seats just as the play begins. However, Brian does not stick around for very long. When Stacey comes out on the stage in her costume, he is furious. The rest of the guys can’t understand why. He immediately stands up and tells them he is leaving. When they ask him why, he replies, “That’s the prick that Amanda cheated on me with!” However, when Brian leaves A.J. notices that the name of the actor playing this guy is named Stacey McKenzie….a female. When he shows Howie and Nick, they are bewildered too. A.J decides to get to the bottom of it and sticks around after the play. When he approaches Stacey, she is more than a little freaked out. However, she maintains her composure well enough to say hello.   
A.J. says, “Hi, you might not know me very well but my best friend used to be engaged to this girl and….well anyway, were you playing this part a year ago?”  
“Yea, why?”  
“Well, he claims that his fiancé cheated on him with you. Do you know an Amanda Webb by chance?”  
“Sure, she’s a good friend of mine. Cheated on Brian, huh?”  
“He saw the two of you in the park hugging I guess while you were wearing that outfit.”   
“And he assumed Amanda was cheating on him? Why didn’t he just talk to her?”  
“That’s exactly what I said! Anyway, the girl he dated before Amanda, well she cheated on him left, right, and sideways and I guess he was a little shell-shocked. Anyway, are you guys by any chance coming to the BSB concert tonight?”  
“Yea, I’m dragging her there. Don’t say anything but she really misses Brian.”  
“Brian misses her too, he’s just an idiot.”  
“After the story you just told me, I would have to say so.”  
“So, uh, you’re a fan huh?”  
“Yea, but I mostly got the tickets for Amanda. This crap between her and Brian has got to stop.”  
“I am in full agreement with you…Oh shit!”  
“What?”  
“I’ve got to haul ass or I’m not gonna make it!”  
“Me too! Bye! Nice meeting you!”  
“Likewise!” A.J. shouts as he races out of the auditiorium.  
So, Stacey rushes home to drag Amanda out of bed and to the concert that she claims she has no interest in seeing. Stacey can’t help but laugh as Amanda comes down the stairs with her hair and makeup done wearing a new outfit. Stacey raises one eyebrow. Amanda replies, “Hey, no harm in showing him what exactly he gave up. You on the other hand look a hot mess. Do you want to change?”  
“No time. Besides, I’m not the one with an ex-boyfriend in the band I’m trying to impress.”  
“Bite me!”  
“No, I’ll have Brian do that!”  
Amanda shoots Stacey a death glare and she is fairly quiet on the way to the concert.

************

A.J. races into the parking lot at the venue with not a second to spare. Brian asks, “Where the hell have you been?!”  
“None of your business, mother. The point is I made it.”  
The girls take their seats shortly before the guys are to take the stage. Amanda is already regretting coming as she sees how truly close their seats are. Before they know it, it’s the guy’s opening song, “The Call”. They come out on stage and start dancing. The next thing Amanda knows, Brian turns around and looks right at her. He stands there frozen for a minute and then promptly drops his microphone. Howie, not noticing this minor snafu, trips over the microphone. Luckily, no one was hurt and the guys managed to finish the song, however, Brian doesn’t look too happy to see Amanda with her “love interest”. However, being the professional that he is, he decides not to let it get the best of him. No, he will sing and dance like never before. If that lousy bitch had the nerve to sit in the front row of his show with the very guy she was messing around with, I’ll be damned if he would give her the satisfaction of knowing it bothered him.  
“Gee Stacey, obviously these guys are excellent performers. I can see why you dragged me here.”  
“Oh shut up Amanda, I’m pretty sure I know whose fault it is that Brian screwed up.” Amanda simply rolls her eyes.  
During the first costume change, Brian says to A.J., “Can you believe she had the nerve to show up here with that guy! I have no idea what I ever saw in her.”  
“Brian, you better take a closer look at that ‘guy’ when we go back out on stage.”  
Brian can’t figure out what A.J. meant by that. He doesn’t have time to think about it, however, because they need to get back out on stage. When they emerge once again to sing their new song, “Back To Your Heart”, A.J. says to Brian, “Damn, that chick with Amanda is fine!”  
“What chick?!” Brian asks, confused.  
“That chick, dude.”  
Just then, Stacey takes off her hat and jacket from her costume and it is plain to see that she is a girl and not a guy. Brian can’t believe his eyes. It wasn’t a guy with Amanda, it was her friend Stacey! What the hell was going on? He didn’t know, but one thing was for sure, he definitely had to talk to Amanda as soon as possible. First, he had to get through the concert and hope they didn’t leave early. As soon as the concert is over, Brian says to A.J., “Dude, I gotta go find Amanda, can I borrow your hat and shades?”  
“What the hell for?”  
“Because roughly 1,000 of our fans are also in that crowd and I don’t want to get mauled.”  
“Fine, just don’t lose my lucky shades, seriously.”  
“Whatever. Can I borrow your car too?”   
“My car? Why can’t you take your car?!”  
“My car is buried back there! I’ll never get to it in time!”  
“Fine! Go! Here’s the keys!”  
Brian knew he had to act fast, Amanda was probably halfway to her car by now. Little did he know, Stacey was stalling to try and give him some extra time.   
“Come on Amanda, look at what a nice night this is. The stars are twinkling!”  
“You’re going to be seeing stars if you don’t get my ass from out of here now!”  
“Fine, have it your way.”  
Just before she gets in the car, Amanda hears that same familiar voice that had haunted her dreams for so long. Somehow above all the noise, she can hear a man’s voice softly say, “Amanda…”  
She spins around instantly and sees Brian standing there in purple sunglasses and a baseball cap. Despite her anger, she can’t help but comment, “Very fetching.”  
“Will you come somewhere with me so we can talk? Please?”  
“Oh, now you want to talk!”  
“Amanda, just go with him!” Stacey interrupts.  
“Jesus H. Christ, fine, what the hell. He already wasted two years of my life, why not a few more minutes!”  
Brian leads Amanda back to his car and tells her to hop in. He drives to the park and parks the car. “Why did you bring me here?”  
“We need to talk. Do you see that spot right there under that tree.”  
“Yes”, said Amanda over the lump in her throat. She knew that spot all the too well. It was the spot. Their spot. She instantly became furious at him. Did his cruelty never end? Why would be bring her here and try to get her to remember things she had been trying so hard for so long to forget?   
“Well, about a week after I left to meet the guys in Orlando I decided to come back home and surprise you. Your mom told me you had gone to the park. I thought, ‘how perfect, I’ll surprise her at our spot’.”  
“Yea, so?!” She exclaims, getting impatient.  
“Anyway, when I got to the park, I saw you, at our spot, hugging what I thought was another guy.”  
“Wait a minute, two weeks after you left…I went to the park with Stacey!”  
“I know that now, but when I saw you she was wearing that costume…”  
“And you immediately assumed that I was cheating on you?!”  
“Yea, pretty pathetic, huh?”  
“I’ll say, but why are you telling me this now?”  
“I didn’t realize till now what had actually happened.”  
“So, you were content to believe that I was cheating on you.”  
“Look, I know how stupid I was to believe it…”  
“What I can’t understand is why you weren’t man enough to come to me and ask me about it. You didn’t even say a word. You let me go right on thinking you had dumped me. I hope it was worth it.” At that, Amanda opens the door of the car and pulls out her cell phone. Maybe she could talk Stacey into picking her up. She didn’t want to spend any more time here than she had to. In the meantime, she began walking, she had to put some distance between herself and Brian.  
“Amanda, wait!”  
“Brian, there’s nothing more to say!”  
“Look, you could walk away right now and I’m petty sure we’d both be fine. We both have jobs we love, families and friends that care….”  
“Yea, I’ve been doing fine this whole year without you!”  
“But are you happy?”  
“Wwwhat?”  
“Are you happy? Sure, you have a job you love but what feeds your heart? Who fills that void?”  
Amanda doesn’t say anything just stares blankly back at him. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve been trying to fill that void up with work and various other kinds of bull shit but when it comes down to it, you’re what’s been missing in my life. I don’t know what to say except please don’t leave. Don’t leave until I at least try to make you understand.”  
“Fine. I give up.”  
At that, she turns around and start walking back towards Brian. He motions for Amanda to come and sit beside him on their spot. That’s when he tells her about Samantha and how he caught her in a similar situation with another guy. “When I thought I saw you doing what she did to me, I don’t know what happened. It almost killed me. I’ll admit I jumped to conclusions, but I know now I was wrong and I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?”  
“I guess I can. I just don’t understand where that leaves us now.”  
“Is it too much to ask that we start over, from scratch?”  
“I don’t know if I can do that.”  
At that, Brian kisses her. At first she tries to pull away, but those efforts soon become futile as she soon finds herself kissing him back. Brian opens his eyes and looks at her. “That felt so good. I’ve really missed you.”  
“I’ve missed you too.”  
“So, what now?”  
“What do you mean?”  
“Do you think we could give it one more chance?”  
“I’d like that but…”  
Brian’s heart sinks as he asks, “but what?”  
“If we are going to start over you should know that I won’t put up with any jealous boyfriend behavior. If I’m going to be with you, that means you need to understand that I am not going to cheat on you, under any circumstances.”  
“I know that now. As long as we’re making demands, I do have a simple request for you as well.”  
“What’s that?”  
“Can you kiss me again?”  
“Just a second…”  
Amanda picks up her phone and dials Stacey. She answers it on the first ring. “So! So! Did you talk?! A.J. told me what was going on. Did you work it out?”  
“I think it’s safe to say we did but um…I probably won’t be home tonight…”  
“Say no more…have fun!”  
Amanda returns to Brian who is still waiting for her under the tree. She asks, “Um, Brian, this isn’t your car is it?”  
“No….Oh shit! A.J. is gonna kill me!”  
“This is A.J.’s car huh? Quite an improvement from the old junker he used to drive!”  
At that, Brian picks up the phone and dials A.J.’s cell. “Hello?!” A.J. answers rather grumpily.  
“Hey A.J., sorry, Amanda and I started talking and…um…well…I forgot I had your car.”   
“And my lucky shades!”  
“Yes, and your damn shades…would there be any way I could keep it for the night.”  
“Well how the hell am I supposed to get back to the hotel?”  
“Just take my car. Tomorrow morning we’ll switch.” The guys have a month break in their schedule before heading back to Orlando to work on the next CD. A.J. is going to West Palm Beach to visit his family.  
“Where are your keys?”  
“I gave them to Nick…”  
“Well, let’s hope he still has them. Anyway, where are you and Amanda going to be…?”  
“At the hotel”  
“I see. Fine, I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Be there at 10:00 sharp I gotta catch a plane.”  
“I’ll be there, thanks.”  
“No problem, just don’t do anything vulgar with my lucky shades.”  
At that, Brian rolls his eyes and hangs up. When Brian gets off the phone with A.J. he comes walking back toward Amanda. He asks, “Miss Webb, would you accompany me to my hotel room?”  
“I’d like that…Miss Webb…you sound like the kids I teach.”   
“Just wait…I’m going to do things to you that never happened at recess.”  
They drive to the hotel at warp speed. Brian goes to the front desk and gets the key while Amanda waits in the car. She can’t believe it but she is actually nervous. She felt the same way she did the first time they had did this over a year ago. She doesn’t have long to think about it though, as she sees Brian rushing back to the car. “Are you ready?” He asks. She knew he just meant to ask if she was ready to go, but the question still seemed a bit loaded. “I think so…” she answered.  
“We don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to. We could just talk.”  
“Can we just take it slow and see what happens?”  
“Of course. Nothing is going to happen that you aren’t comfortable with.”  
They arrive at the room and Brian opens the car door for her. He takes her hand to help her out of the seat. She can’t help but smile at how sweet he was being. She knew he wanted this as much as she did, if only she could get her nerves under control. As they opened the door, Amanda immediately looked down at the king sized bed. She had envisioned this moment in her dreams countless times over the past year but she never thought she would ever get here. Life was so funny. “Do you want to just watch some T.V. for awhile.” he asked.   
“No…” She squeaked.  
“What do you want to do?” He asked while looking into her eyes.  
“This…” At that, she pressed her lips to his. Brian returned the kiss and took her into his arms. He placed one hand at the nape of her neck and the other began to explore. His left hand began working his way to the bottom of her shirt. Soon, he found the smooth skin under there. Oh, but he wasn’t finished yet. He then found her bra and the one hook that was keeping him from touching those beautiful breasts he had seen so many times in his dreams. He moved his right hand to unhook her bra. When Amanda was finally free of those restraints, she quickly removed her shirt that was now practically above her head and threw her bra on the floor. She could tell that Brian was determined to do this right and take his time. However, she had little time to think about it as he brought her down onto the bed and began to pleasure her with his tongue. The feel of his warm tongue on her already aching, hard nipples was more than Amanda could take. She moaned and cried out. At that, Brian placed one finger over her lips and whispered, “Shh…I’m just getting started”. He then turned his attention to her other breast, giving it the same attention that he gave the other.   
By now, Amanda was pleading with him, “Pants…now!” In a breathless voice.   
“Anxious are we?”  
Growing increasingly impatient, she begins to unbutton them herself. She quickly tosses them on the floor as well. Brian’s breath catches in his throat as he catches a glimpse of her red lace panties. “Where did you get those?” he asks with a little giggle.  
“What? You don’t like them?”  
“Oh no, daddy like…It’s a shame you won’t have them on very long.”  
“Well, what are you waiting for?”  
“Nothing.” He slides her panties down her thighs and in a moment of silliness, he twirls them on his finger before tossing them on the floor. Amanda can’t help but giggle. Brian’s eyes turn serious as he kneels down between her thighs. Amanda knew what he was going to do. He kissed her there and she gasped with pleasure. She knew if she didn’t have him inside her soon she was going to explode. All the while, Brian kept loving her with his tongue. The intense growing pleasure continued between her thighs. With a shudder, her climax hit as she cried out his name. She put her arms around his neck and held on tight, afraid she would fall off the bed as she lost control.   
Breathing heavily, Amanda had little time to recover as Brian quickly removed his pants and boxers. In a brief moment of clarity she whispers, “Condom?”  
She hears Brian shuffling through his pants to find his wallet. “Right here.” With the protection at last in place, Brian returned to the bed as Amanda whispered, “Hurry, I can’t take much more…” Brian places one finger where his tongue had been and whispers in her ear, “You’re so ready my love, so, so ready…” Without another word, he thrust inside her. He began to move slowly and methodically at first as Amanda savored the feeling of having him there. Soon, she wanted more…she wanted him deep inside her and she wanted him there now. She wrapped her legs around him to take him as deeply as he could go. Brian’s breath hitched as his pleasure began to build as well. His thrusting became increasingly fast as he felt himself becoming more and more aroused. Amanda could feel her own climax building as he continued to move in and out of her body. She opened her eyes long enough to see the glint of fire in his eyes. “Come with me…” he whispers. They reach their peak together. When it is all over, they collapse in each others arms. 

************  
Early the next morning Amanda begins to wonder about something. Had Brian been with someone else? Why did he have a condom last night if he hadn’t been sleeping with someone else? They hadn’t been together in over a year. Brian wakes up a few minutes later and can tell that something is on Amanda’s mind. “What’s wrong?” She lets out a sigh. “What is it?” He asks again.  
“Brian, I need to know something…”  
“What?”  
“I promised myself I wasn’t going to ask but I have to know.”  
“What’s the matter?”  
“Since we’ve been apart, have you…I mean…have you been with anyone else?”  
He lets out a chuckle and Amanda can’t understand why. Finally, he answers, “If you count two blind dates that A.J. sent me on that ended at 8:30 and 9:00 respectively.”  
“Yea, but before 8:30 and 9:00 did you….you know?”  
“Are you asking me if I’ve made love with anyone else?”  
“Yea, I guess I am.”  
“No, there hasn’t been anyone else.” He pauses for a minute and asks, “What about you?”  
“No. No one else.”  
“Why do you suppose that is?” he asks.  
“Because I could never have sex with anyone that didn’t have my whole heart. I gave that to you a long time ago.”  
“I love you.” he whispers in her ear.  
“I love you too….oh no….”   
“What?”  
“When do you have to leave?”  
“Well, we need to leave the hotel by 10:00 so that A.J. can have his car back so he can make his flight.”  
“Where is he going?” She wonders.  
“To Florida to visit family. We have a month long break in our schedule. In fact, that reminds me of something…”  
“What?” She asks.  
“Will you come back to Orlando with me? I want to spend the month with you.”  
“Sure, school is out for the summer anyway, but after the month is up, what are we going to do?”  
“Well, to tell you the truth, I don’t know. I guess we just should take it slow and see what happens? What do you think?”  
“Sounds like a good idea.”  
It was true that she and Brian didn’t have many plans at the moment. However, sometimes in life you just need to be brave enough to just let go and follow your heart. With Brian by her side, Amanda was learning how.


	2. You're Where I Belong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amanda wonders if she and Brian are a passing fling or forever.

You’re Where I Belong

 

-The next morning, 10:00 A.M-  
Brian and Amanda are dressed and ready to go in time to trade cars with A.J. As they approach him, Brian can see the shitty grin on his face. They both know that A.J. knows exactly what happened the night before. For some reason, however, neither of them cares. Brian gives him his lucky shades, hat, and car keys. Brian says, “Thanks for the favor dude, I owe you one.”  
“No problem, I’m just glad you finally came to your senses. Hello Amanda, long time, no see.” A.J. says with a smile.  
“Hi A.J. I hear you have a break and you’re going back to Florida for awhile.”  
“Yea, a whole month. I can’t remember the last time I had a month long break. I plan to make the most of it, I’m visiting family and then I’m spending some time with my girlfriend.”   
“Girlfriend? You mean someone finally convinced you to settle down?” She asks.  
“Who said anything about settling down? Brian’s the one who’s been beaten into submission. I’m just in what you call a ‘casual relationship’.” Brian rolls his eyes.  
“Okay, well, have a safe trip.” Brian tells him as he gets into his car and drives away. Brian drives Amanda back to her house where she must begin the long process of packing, but first she had to shower. She makes her way upstairs where Stacey is waiting for her in front of her bedroom door. The look on her face tells Amanda that she wants all of the juicy details. Amanda also needed to tell her that she would be leaving the afternoon to go back to Orlando with Brian for a month.   
“Hi…” Amanda says.  
“Hi, so, what happened last night?” Asks Stacey.  
“Well…” The look on Amanda’s face confirms what Stacey knew all along.  
“Was it good?” Stacey asks in her not-so-subtle way.  
“Better than that. Anyway, I need to ask you something.”  
“What?”  
“Would you care if I went back with Brian to Orlando? He has a month off in his schedule and he asked me to go. The rent is payed up for a month, so you won’t have to worry about that. I just think this might be our chance to get close again.”  
“I’d say you got pretty close last night…”  
“That’s not what I mean!”  
“I know, I know. Look, I don’t blame you for wanting to go. Have a good time!”  
“I will, which reminds me, I have to shower and pack…”  
“Okay, take care. Call me when you get there…”  
While Amanda is getting ready, Stacey makes her way downstairs where Brian is waiting. They both smile awkwardly at each other. Finally, Stacey says, “So, I hear you’re taking Amanda with you back to Orlando for a few weeks.”  
“Yea…” Brian answers uneasily.  
“Look, there’s no need to be nervous around me. I was the one pushing Amanda to work it out with you in the first place.”  
“I guess I just feel kind of stupid considering you know about the misunderstanding.”  
“Yea, I know about it. There’s just one thing I need to tell you before you leave.”  
“What’s that?”  
“Amanda loves you a lot. When I saw her upstairs she was happier than I’ve seen her in a long time. Just please don’t hurt her again or I’ll kill you.” With a smile, Stacey leaves the room. Brian silently promises himself that he won’t mess it up this time. Amanda was back in his life, just like he’d always wanted her to be. He would do all he could to keep her happy.  
Amanda packs everything she needs. She is just about to close the closet and make her way downstairs when she remembers something special that she almost forgot. She quickly finds the ring box and stashes it in her suitcase. Maybe it would bring her luck on this trip to find happily ever after at the end. She makes her way downstairs. Not long after that, they are both on a flight to Orlando. Amanda didn’t know where this trip would take her, but she was excited to find out.  
*********  
After a long flight and a long drive back to Brian’s place, they finally pull into a long driveway. Amanda didn’t think they would ever reach the house. Finally, from the front window of the car, she sees the most gigantic house for one man she had ever seen. “Uh, Brian?”  
“Yea?”  
“Exactly how many people live here?”  
“Just me, why?”  
“How many rooms does it have?”  
“Would you like the grand tour?” He asks sweetly.  
“Okay, this I have to see…” Amanda says awkwardly. Brian’s life had obviously changed a lot in the year they had been apart.  
He begins to lead her through a house that to her seemed like a mansion. A gigantic living room, an office, and a gourmet kitchen…at that one she had to laugh. What the hell did Brian need with a gourmet kitchen? His idea of cooking involved unwrapping a Kraft single while making toast. He also had a game room with several arcade machines, Nintendo Wi, and Playstation 3. That was just the ground floor. Next he led her upstairs. There were four bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms just upstairs! Amanda didn’t have a whole lot to say throughout the entire tour. When Brian finally took her to the master suite he said, “This is my…I mean, our room.” At that he turns around to face Amanda, who had a distant look on her face. He asks, “Is something wrong?”   
“Oh no, I’m just a little…”  
Brian hung on her every word. What if she said they were moving too fast? What if she said this wasn’t a good idea? What if…he didn’t have time to think of anything else as Amanda says, “I’m a little tired…we were up pretty late last night.”   
“I know…” At that, he puts their bags on the floor and takes her in his arms. He never wanted this month to end. But it will, then what? He ignored the voice inside his head that told him that eventually the month would end and he wasn’t sure where that left them. All he wanted to do was hold the woman that he loved. As long as she was in his life, he would be happy.   
Amanda wanted to get lost in the feeling of being in Brian’s arms but something nagged at her. Did Brian really think of this as “their room”? Was he just trying to be nice? Would she ever really fit in his world? She forced herself to push those nagging thoughts aside. There would be plenty of time to sort that out. For once in her life, she just wanted to focus on the here and now. Incidentally, the here and now had beautiful blue eyes and a tight, hot ass. With that thought, Amanda began kissing him.

*********  
Meanwhile, back in Ohio, Stacey is contemplating what the hell she is going to do for a whole month with the apartment all to herself. She hated to admit it, but she was a little annoyed that Amanda had run off with Brian. Sure, they hadn’t made any plans for the summer but they could have had some! “Leaves my fuckin’ ass in Ohio while she goes off with Mr. Hot Stuff for a little month long rendezvous. Does she know how long it has been since I had a vacation?!” Stacey knew it was silly to be talking/bitching out loud to no one but herself. So, she decides to busy herself with work that she brought home for the weekend. Another weekend slaving away for a job that she frankly could care less about. Things were not looking up!

*********  
A.J. is just arriving in West Palm Beach. He can’t wait to see his family and get some much needed TLC from his girlfriend. He knew just what would happen. He would get off the plane and there she would be, wearing those short shorts that he loved to look at and one of those tube tops-WHOO! Is it hot in here? He asks himself. However, when he gets off the plane he sees his girlfriend, Liz, in a business suit. What the fuck? “Liz, is that you?”  
“Yes Alex, it’s me.” She says in a matter-of-fact way.   
“What happened to you?! I mean, what’s with the fancy office duds?”  
“I’ve been making a few changes since you left. In fact, I think there’s some things we need to discuss.”  
Oh shit, it’s never good when a woman uses the word “discuss”  
“Okay, do you want to go get something to eat?”  
“That would be fine.”  
When they pull into McDonalds, Liz can’t help but roll her eyes. When is he ever going to grow up? she wonders. When they finally get their food and sit down she says to him, “Alex, I think it’s time we see other people.”  
“Wha..huh?” A.J nearly chokes on his double quarter pounder with cheese. “I thought we were getting along great.”  
“Sure, we get along but come on, where exactly is this relationship going? I’m getting to the place in my life when I think I would like to settle down, get married, start a family…you know, do grown-up things. With you it seems like I’m still in high school.”  
Ouch. Did she have to be so direct? “Sure, whatever you want.”  
“Good, in the meantime I need to go. I have a job interview in forty-five minutes and I need to look my best. Take care!” With that, Liz jets out of the restaurant. With a shrug, A.J. continues to chow down on his burger. Women!

*********  
After she and Brian regain their composure after their make-out session, Amanda remembers that she promised to call Stacey when she arrived in Orlando. Plus, Brian had some business to take care off back at his record label. After Brian leaves, Amanda dials the phone. She can’t help but notice that Stacey seems a little annoyed when she picks up.   
“Hello. I take it you got to Orlando OK.”  
“Yea, we did. Is something wrong?”  
“No, just sitting here bored as hell and contemplating this pile of work I have to do for BCI.”  
“Don’t tell me you brought work home again! What are you, their slave?!”  
“Well, not all of us have a hot ass boyfriend to run off to Orlando with for a month now do we?” (half joking).  
“Fair enough. Anyway, don’t be too mad at me, I swear this is just for a month.”  
“I know that.” Stacey might have said the words but truth be told, she didn’t really believe that. She was sure that Amanda and Brian would renew their engagement and it would only a matter of time before Amanda moved down there permanently. Not that she wasn’t happy for her, but she would miss her.  
Amanda notices that Stacey doesn’t seem to have too much to say, so she tells her that they will talk again soon and hangs up the phone. 

**********  
Not long after Amanda gets off the phone with Stacey, Brian gets an unexpected call from Jive Records. He curses under his breath as he reads the caller I.D. “They know I’m on vacation…if they want to bump up recording the new album they can forget it…” Amanda can’t help but wonder what’s going on, especially since she rarely ever saw Brian mutter under his breath like that and when he did it usually meant he was pretty annoyed.  
After he gets off the phone, she asks him, “What was that all about?”  
“Jive has scheduled some ‘emergency meeting’ with us in two days. A.J. will no doubt be thrilled to come back from his vacation early. I’m really sorry babe; I had no idea they were going to pull this. Well, rest assured that aside from that little hour or so that I have to sit through some stupid meeting, my attention will be completely focused on you this month.”  
“It’s no problem, I understand.” With a yawn, she adds, “I think I’ll go take a nap…”  
“Okay, sweet dreams…”  
Amanda shoots him a death glare and he suddenly realizes that she wants him to join her for a “good nap”.  
“Right behind you my love…”  
Lying in Brian’s arms, Amanda begins to wonder something. She asks him, “Brian, as long as I’ve known A.J. he’s had a problem with commitment. Why is that?”  
With a laugh, Brian asks her, “What made you think of that?”  
“Well, I just think he’s a really nice guy, I mean, he’s always been nice to me anyway, and I was just wondering why he doesn’t seem to ever want to meet the right person and settle down.”  
“Well, with A.J. it’s complicated…it’s not really a matter of not wanting to settle down…look, he would kill me if he knew I told you so you have to promise to keep this between us.”  
“You know I will, what is it?”  
“Have you ever noticed that A.J. never talks about his dad?” He asks.  
“Come to think of it, yes I have noticed that but I never really thought much about it.”  
“Well, his dad took off when he was four years old. He hasn’t seen him since. It’s basically just been him and his mom his whole life. Somewhere along the line he started to think that just because his dad couldn’t handle the whole commitment thing, neither could he. Then there was his first serious girlfriend…”  
“Who was she?”  
“Marissa. He started dating her when the group first got together. They got engaged and even bought a place together. What he didn’t know was that while he was on the road touring, Marissa was…entertaining other interests.”  
“Oh no! How did he find out?”  
“He flew home a couple days early from the tour to find her in bed with his best friend from high school.”  
“See, I thought you two had always been best friends.”  
“We are now, but not until the group got together. Anyway, I really felt for the guy. I went through a similar situation with my first girlfriend.”  
“Samantha.”  
“Yea, but hell, even she had enough courtesy not to screw around with my best friend.”  
“Do you ever think about her?” Amanda asks, not fully wanting to hear his answer.  
“Sure, I think about her sometimes.” Amanda’s heart sank as she heard those words.  
Brian adds, “I think about how I thought I would never find someone I would love even half as much as her. I used to think that she was the one for me. You know something though?”  
“What?” Brian can tell that his words were hurting Amanda, but he felt it was important for her to hear what he had to say.  
“She wasn’t the one for me. I thought she was the love of my life but the truth is I didn’t even know what love was until I met you.” With that, Amanda snuggled in closer to him and drifted off to sleep in his arms.

-Two Days Later-  
Brian leaves early to arrive at Jive records on time for their meeting. He can’t help but wonder what this is all about. Oddly enough, A.J. pulls into the parking lot at almost the same time he does. Brian can hear A.J. muttering under his breath, “Piece of shit…make my fuckin’ ass come all the way back from Palm Beach just so they can run their mouths about god knows what…”  
“Hi A.J”, Brian says, “looks like you’re as thrilled to be here as I am.”  
“Dude, this is such bull shit. Do you know I was chillin’ on the beach at the very moment they called me on my cell?! If this is about bumping up recording the next album they can kiss my natural black ass. Like we don’t deserve a break!”  
“I know what you mean. Have you talked to Howie or Nick?”  
“No, but you know D, he’ll probably says something like, ‘come on guys, I’m sure they want to discuss something legitimately important to our careers’ or some bull shit like that. I love the guy to death and all, but he has a painfully annoying way of always looking on the bright side of things.” At that, Brian begins to snicker and A.J. can’t figure out why. Then he hears a male voice from right behind him.  
“Gee, thanks man, I try”, says Howie.  
“Howie! How are ya dude, enjoying your vacation?”  
Howie rolls his eyes. “Might I point out you have a painfully annoying way of sticking your foot in your mouth a lot.”  
“You’re probably right about that one. Don’t mind me, I’m just pissed off.”   
“I know, but I’m sure they want to discuss something legitimately important to our careers.” He says with a laugh. A.J. can’t help but smile.  
“On a side note, where the hell is Carter? If I have to be here, his ass has to be here too.” Just then, Nick’s car speeds into the parking lot.   
“Sorry guys, I was with this girl in Tampa and…”  
“Save it Nick! Now let’s get our asses in there so we may get our asses out at a decent time.” A.J. says grumpily, though Nick wasn’t late.  
Nothing prepared the guys for what they were about to hear. Their manager, Johnny Wright, informs them that they made little to no money on their last tour, though it was one of the most successful of the year.   
“Wait a minute here, wait…you’re telling me that the last tour made no money when we were selling out stadiums?! What the hell happened?! We toured so much last year Howie’s mama forgot what he looked like! He came home and she was like, ‘who the hell is this on my porch?!’ now you’re telling me that we haven’t made any money?!” A.J. rambles on. The rest of the guys can’t help but laugh, though they were upset too. A.J. had a way of carrying on when he was pissed about something.  
“Well guys, it’s simple, you paid more for the tour than you brought in.” Johnny answers, matter-of-factly.  
“How did we do that?” Nick asks in his “I’m clueless but cute” voice.  
“Okay, it’s like this, let me break it down for you…did you really need a full orchestra for your ballads, a dance team for your up-tempos, enough costume changes for a Broadway play, a private tour bus for each of you that sleeps eight, private catering for each venue, oh yes! How could I forget, you also had private jets to take each of you to your overseas shows! Seven Michael Jackson tours couldn’t have made a profit expecting what you guys did! You need someone to go on tour with you that will keep you grounded as far as what you can afford. You know, someone who will help you make smart financial decisions.”  
“Wait a minute, are you suggesting we take an accountant on tour with us?” Asks Brian.  
“That’s what I’m suggesting, unless you want to go broke before the end of the next tour.”  
“Okay, we’ll hire an accountant.” Howie answers for the group.  
“Good! I’ve taken the liberty of pulling the resumes of several good candidates.”  
Johnny proceeds to give them a stack of resumes and credentials for hundreds of accountants in the area. The guys decide to take the resumes with them while they go get something to eat.  
“Look at these pencil pushing geeks, who would want to go on tour with any of these people!” Exclaims A.J.  
“I know, aren’t there any cute girl accountants?” Asks Nick.  
At that, the rest of the guys look at Nick like he is a total moron. It was a look that Nick had become accustomed to over the years. By the end of lunch, they are not one step closer to deciding on the right accountant. When Brian arrives back home two hours after he left, Amanda is sure that it was not a pleasant meeting. The look on his face confirms her suspicions.   
She asks, “So, what did they say?”  
“They said that the last tour didn’t turn a profit and told us we needed to hire an accountant.” Brian replies grumpily.  
“Oh really?” she says. The gears are already turning in her head with an idea. Brian can’t help but wonder what she’s thinking.   
“Um, sweetie, may I ask what you are so happy about?”  
“Well, it just so happens that I might have a solution to your problem.”  
“You do! You’re kidding! What is it?” Brian asks excitedly.  
“I know an accountant that is quite unhappy at her job.” I answer.  
Without another word, I dial your number. “Stacey! Pack your shit! You’re coming to Orlando!”  
“Very funny, Amanda. Gee, I’d love to come to Florida but I seem to have misplaced my thong bikini. Now if you will excuse me, I have work to do.” Stacey retorts in an irritable voice.  
“That’s exactly what I’m talking about, work! Do you know how many times you have told me how much you hate your job?!”  
“About a million, why?”  
“Well, what would you say if I told you that Brian and the rest of the guys are looking to hire an accountant to go on tour with them next month and I told Brian that you would be the perfect choice?”  
“I would say that I can’t come because my fairy godmothers Tinky, Winky, and Nod have already hired me for a job at the land of booger tree.”  
Amanda finally realizes that there is no way Stacey is going to believe this coming from her so she puts Brian on the phone. After explaining to Stacey that this is in fact a legitimate job opportunity, Brian gives Amanda back the phone. “So, would you like to turn down the job at the land of booger tree and get your ass down here to meet with the guys and at least discuss this?”  
“What the hell made them want to hire me anyway?”   
She says nothing, just simply clears her throat.   
“Oh, thanks…” Says Stacey, realizing her friend had not forgotten about her after all.  
“You’re welcome; after all, if not for you I probably wouldn’t be down here either.” Amanda begrudgingly admits.  
“That’s true, you are pretty stubborn.”  
She starts to argue, but finally realizes that Stacey knows her too well. The two agree that Stacey should come down as soon as possible, so they make plans for her to arrive the following weekend. Stacey is relieved that she will at least have one weekend out of her life that is not devoted to taking work home from BCI. She was trying to be careful not to get her hopes up, after all, what were the odds of this actually working out? Probably about as good as A.J. McLean falling in love with you. She wasn’t sure where that thought came from, so she decided to ignore it.  
Meanwhile, Amanda tells Brian the good news. When he finds out that Stacey has agreed to meet with them, he is ecstatic. Not just because he knew he wouldn’t mind having her on tour with him and the rest of the guys, but also because if Stacey re-located to Orlando, perhaps he could convince Amanda to do the same. His heart did a little flip-flop. He would do anything to keep her here with him permanently.

-The following weekend-  
Naturally, when Brian told the rest of the guys that Stacey may be interested in joining them on tour they were relieved also. Granted, they didn’t know her all that well but anything was better than the alternatives that Johnny gave them. Stacey arrives in Orlando around 1:00. After about an hour long conversation, they guys are quite eager to hire her. She accepts the position on the spot. However, she now has to face three more weeks at a job she can’t stand. She flies back to Ohio happy that she has found a new job, but frustrated that she has to suffer through three more weeks at one she can’t stand. She calls Amanda to tell her she arrived in Ohio okay.  
“Stacey, just quit. You know you have enough money saved up to survive three lousy weeks without a pay check.” Amanda suggests in her helpful, yet annoying, way.  
“I couldn’t quit! And what about our apartment! I can’t just leave it vacant until after the tour! I can’t believe I accepted this job! What was I thinking?”  
Amanda can see that Stacey is already getting hysterical. She can also tell that there is no talking to her at this point. Later that evening, after Stacey headed off to the hotel she was staying at for the night, Amanda begins a conversation with Brian.  
“Brian, I need to ask a favor.” She says, a little nervous that he wouldn’t go for what she was going to ask.  
“Sure babe, what is it?”  
“Well, Stacey really wants to go on tour with you guys in a few weeks…”  
“Okay, so what’s the problem?” He asks, still unsure about what this was all about.  
“Well, the problem is that she hates her current job but she doesn’t want to quit. She also isn’t sure about what to do about our apartment back in Ohio. Without both of us there, there’s no point in paying rent on the place, know what I mean?”  
Brian could feel his hopes starting to rise. Would this be what he had been waiting to hear? Would Amanda say she wanted to move in with him permanently?  
“Anyway, what I wanted to know was whether or not Stacey could stay here until you guys go on tour. I could fly back to Ohio and pack up my things. I can always find another apartment in a few weeks after you guys leave.” While Amanda was trying to put up an I-could-care-less front, she really wanted Brian to ask her to stay. There was something else she wanted him to ask her too…if only he…  
She is suddenly interrupted by Brian saying, “Of course she can stay here! I don’t mind at all. Would you like me to fly back to Ohio with you and help you pack?”  
“No, no. I can handle it. You should probably start thinking about getting ready for the tour.”  
“We already are ready…”  
Amanda isn’t around to hear the rest of the sentence. Instead she is busy getting her things ready to fly back to Ohio and move out of the apartment. That was that. She had dropped every hint she possibly could that she wanted to stay. Obviously Brian didn’t want her to stay that badly or he would have said something. She finished putting together a change of clothes, pajamas, and what she would need to stay overnight in Ohio and slung her bag over her shoulder. First she calls Stacey and tells her the news. Next, she calls the airline and books a flight to Ohio that is to depart in 45 minutes. She casually tells Brian goodbye and drives to the airport.   
Brian can’t figure out what just happened. Was Amanda having second thoughts about getting back together? Did she want to go back to Ohio? While he is deep in thought, he almost trips over a box that had fallen out of the closet when Amanda was packing. He silently hoped it wasn’t something she forgot. Nothing prepared him for what he saw when he opened the box. The ring. He had no idea she still had it. He sat down quickly on the side of the bed, feeling a little light-headed from the shock. He couldn’t figure out why she had brought the ring. Then a thought occurred to him. What if she had brought the ring to give it back to him? As soon as that thought entered his mind something inside began to hurt. He started thinking about how much better these past few weeks of his life had been. He knew exactly why. It was because he had the woman he loved back in his life. What was he going to do if she went back to Ohio? After everything they had been through he couldn’t stand to lose her again. He had to do something. Suddenly he realizes that he has wasted nearly thirty minutes thinking about it when he should be going after Amanda. Without another thought, he jumps in the car, he had to catch her before she got on the plane.  
Meanwhile, Amanda is arriving at the airport just in time to catch her plane. She couldn’t help but curse herself for getting her hopes up only to get hurt again. Of course this was just some harmless sex and it would do her good to put it out of her mind. You can’t have harmless sex with someone you love. There was that stupid voice again. Well, from now on, she was tuning it out. She closed her eyes and put on her headphones. Maybe some music would help her feel better and keep her mind off of what might have been. That might work if you had something besides sappy love songs! “Shut up!” Amanda says out loud. Instantly most of the people on the plane look at her as if she has lost her mind. She vows never to answer the voice in her head again.  
Brian speeds into the parking lot of the airport and races in. He silently prays that the flight was late. “Excuse me, can you tell me if the flight to Ohio has left yet?”  
“I’m afraid it has sir, I’m sorry.” Brian heard the words but it was hard to focus on them as he felt all of the air leave his lungs. How could he have let her go? He was such a fool. What if she didn’t come back?  
“Um, sir…” Brian finally realizes that he is staring off into space in front of the lady at the counter.  
“Oh, I’m sorry. Thank you.”  
“Well, I was just going to tell you that we have another flight departing for Ohio in about an hour. Would you like me to book you on that flight?”  
“Yes! Yes! That would be great!” That would only give Amanda an hour head start. She would still be packing by the time he got to her place. He receives his ticket and decides to have a seat since he has an hour to kill. Suddenly, his phone rings. He can feel his heart speed up to about 200 beats per minute. Maybe it was Amanda! Maybe she would say she’s coming back! He is more than a little disappointed when it is AJ on the other end of the line.  
“Hey dude, where are you? I’ve been trying to call your house.”  
“Long story, I’m at the airport.”  
“The airport? What the hell for?”  
“Well, Amanda’s friend Stacey is going to come stay with us until the tour starts and with Amanda being up here that would leave their apartment vacant.”  
“Yea, that still doesn’t tell me why you’re at the airport.”  
“Amanda out of the blue decides to pack up all of her stuff back in Ohio and put it into storage. She said that she would find a new place after we leave to go on tour.”  
“Why wouldn’t she just stay with you? You did ask her RIGHT?”  
“Um…”  
“Dude , you talk about me and women but you my friend are a lost cause. Don’t you get that she was just trying to drop hints so that you would ask her? What’s she going to do, ask you? I know, she could say, ‘hey baby, you wanna shack up permanent?’”  
“Ok, ok, so I screwed up, I’ve already established that, that’s why I’m going to Ohio to bring her back.”  
“Lord! Good luck!”  
“Gee, thanks.”  
“When does your plane leave?”  
“About 45 minutes.”  
“Ok, well you better get her back after everything you guys have been through…you know what I just realized?”  
“What?”  
“Everything you guys have been through has basically been your fault too.”  
“Goodbye AJ.”  
“Bye!”  
*****  
Finally Brian’s plane begins boarding. He is one of the first people on. They look at him more than a little puzzled when he doesn’t check any bags and doesn’t have any carry-on luggage. Let’s face it, he didn’t have time to pack and thinking about Amanda would keep him busier on the plane than anything he could fit into a carry-on bag. After he finally got settled into a seat he remembered what he had found back at the house and what was still in his pocket. The ring. He silently vowed then and there that if Amanda agreed to move in with him permanently that he would talk to Stacey and find out why exactly she had brought the ring along with her. In the meantime, he intended to hold onto it. He wondered what she was doing at that very moment and if she was thinking about him. Odds were she wasn’t except that he is a total fool who doesn’t deserve her. Man, when was he ever going to get this right?  
Meanwhile, back in Ohio Amanda is contemplating packing her things. She had been home for over an hour and still hadn’t started. Stacey was still in her hotel back in Orlando so that left the place empty. Amanda had taken the time to speak to her and Stacey told her it was fine if she wanted to put her things in storage, in her own little way. Amanda was still sitting on the side of her bed when Stacey called.  
“Amanda, why didn’t you just tell Brian you want to move in with him? Don’t you think that’s what he wants?” She asked.  
“If he does he certainly hasn’t let on that that is the case.”  
“Well, have you?”  
“No, what do you think I am, a fool? I would still like to keep my dignity when this is all over.”  
“What are you talking about dignity and what makes you think that it will be over soon?”  
“Oh come on Stacey, it’s obvious that Brian wants nothing more than some harmless sex and that’s never going to be good enough for me. As far as my dignity goes, look at me, I jumped on a ride of hormones halfway across the country just to get laid.”  
“Amanda, I know you a lot better than that and that’s not why you went down there. Don’t give me that shit. You’re in love with this man. When are you going to stand up and be honest with yourself. He loves you too.”  
“What makes you so sure?”  
Stacey answers, but Amanda doesn’t hear as she hears a loud pounding on the door. “Um, Stacey, someone’s at the door, I’ll call you back.”  
“Ok….” Stacey was almost certain who was at the door.  
Amanda opens the door to see those all too familiar blue eyes. “Brian, what in the world are you doing here?”  
“Why did you leave like that?”  
“Like what?”  
“You know what I mean, Amanda. You were out the door before I even had a chance to talk to you first.”  
“What’s there to talk about? All I’m doing is getting my things together so that I’m not homeless when you guys leave to go on tour. What’s the harm in that? You’re going to want to get on with your life and it seems that Stacey is getting a whole new life. Where is that going to leave me? A girl has to take care of herself.”  
“What makes you so sure that I don’t want you to be a part of my life?”  
“Oh come on, Brian. This has been fun we both know that but what was this anyway? Seems like just sex to me.” She was trying to put up a brave front but Brian could see that she didn’t really believe what she was saying.  
Brian just shakes his head. “Amanda, I love you. This isn’t just sex or a momentary fling, or whatever you’re trying to say it is right now. This was about me finally having you back in my life. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. I want you to stay with me.”  
“And do what? Go on tour with you? I’d just be in the way.”  
“No matter where we are you would never be in the way. You’re where I belong. I want you with me.”  
Amanda begins to chuckle. “What is it?” Brian asks.   
“Nice line.”  
“What?”  
“You’re where I belong.” She answers laughing.  
“It’s true.”  
“Well Littrell, I guess we’re together forever.”  
At that, he scoops her up in his arms and whispers, “Promise?”  
“Promise.”


	3. Maybe It's You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A.J. finally finds a girl he can't impress.

Maybe It’s You

“Do you need help packing?” Brian asks with an ornery grin.  
“No, I was thinking we could do something else. The packing can wait.” Amanda answers with a gleam in her eye.  
“What did you have in mind then?”  
“Well, it just occurred to me that you haven’t ever spent the night with me.”  
“Spent the night with you? Babe, we’ve spent the past three weeks together.” Brian answers with a puzzled look.   
“No, I mean in my bed in my bedroom...it seems to me we should um, christen it.”  
“Lead the way.” Brian whispers breathlessly.  
Amanda opens the door and can hear Brian behind her, his breath quickening. She turns to him quickly and asks, “Is everything okay?”  
“Yea, there’s just one problem...”   
“What’s that?”  
“We better get to that bed quick or I’m going to tear your clothes off right here.”  
With a giggle, Amanda sits down on the bed and throws her top to the floor. She then reaches for the button on her pants. “No, no, no I’ll get that…” Brian says.  
He unbuttons her pants and drops them to the floor next to her top. He then reaches for his own shirt and pants. Within seconds, there is nothing left between them but boxers, bra, and panties. Without bothering to unhook it, Brian pulls her bra up and over her head. “In a hurry?” Amanda asks.  
“Oh honey, you’re going to regret teasing me!”  
Without warning, Brian tears her panties off, ripping them at the sides. “Well, at least they weren’t my fanciest pair” Amanda says with a giggle. She has little time to think of anything else to say as Brian begins to stroke her feminine curls ever so gently. His touch felt so good that she could feel herself filling with hot liquid. Her clit was begging for attention as she had to force herself to keep from crying out. She began writhing beneath his hand as he continued to rub the outside of her vagina. Why was he waiting so long! He slowly dipped one finger inside to touch her inner lips. His gentle stroking continued but he still did not touch her where she wanted it most.   
“Please…” She whispered breathlessly. But he still did not touch her there. With her patience running out, Amanda grabs Brian’s hand and places it over her swollen, throbbing nub.   
“Oh, so that’s what you want?” He asks mischievously.   
“Yes…oh god yes…” She answers breathlessly.  
Without another word, he began rubbing or aching, wet clit. She could feel her pussy getting tighter and tighter as he continued to rub her. She began thrusting against his hand, begging for release. Her breath was becoming more and more ragged and she knew it wouldn’t be long now. Her cunt was so wet she knew it had to be dripping on the bed. But Brian was far from finished. He suddenly stopped rubbing her.   
“Ohhh....” Amanda let out a whimper as she saw him remove his hand. She gave him a puzzled look.  
“Don’t look at me like that my love. I’m not finished...don’t you worry.” With that, he kneels down and spreads her legs apart. Amanda knows instantly what he plans to do and her inner muscles shudder and ache at the thought. He dips his tongue inside of her and begins loving her. The feel of his warm wet tongue on her throbbing, wet clit was too much for Amanda to bear. She bucked against him and clutched his shoulders, desperate for something to hold onto as she could feel herself quickly losing control.   
“Oh...Oh God...OOOOHHHHH!” She cried out as her climax came over her with a shudder. She let out a ragged breath and lay limp in the bed. If she didn’t have him inside her soon she would lose her mind. She could hear him fumbling in his wallet for a condom.   
“Hurry...please hurry...” She begged. After what seemed like an eternity he was back in bed with her. With one fast move he thrust inside her. He began moving in and out slowly. After a short time he lets out a frustrated sigh. Amanda can’t figure out what’s wrong as she looks up at him. Had she done something wrong?  
“No, no, sweetheart, it’s just that you’re so tight and wet it’s going to be hard to keep my wits about me. Forgive me...”  
“Oh, well, maybe this will help...” She wraps her legs around him taking him in even deeper. His thrusts became faster and more desperate as he became more and more aroused. Amanda could feel her clit becoming heavy and tight again. Her inner muscles continued to contract as he thrust in and out of her throbbing hole. She could feel that delicious ache coming over her. Her orgasm exploded inside of her as she cried out his name. He followed soon after as they collapsed in each other’s arms.   
***********  
Brian curled up beside her and wrapped his arms around her. He whispered in her ear, “I love you so much.”  
“I love you too.”  
“Oh! I almost forgot! I found something that belongs to you after you left...” Amanda rolls over to see him fumbling inside his pants pocket for something and she can’t help but wonder what that something is. She can tell he has something in his hand but he is stubbornly keeping it tightly closed so that she can’t peak.  
“Close your eyes...”  
“Why?” Amanda asks bewildered.  
“Don’t ask questions just close them.” He answers with a giggle.  
When he finally tells her to open her eyes he is back in the bed and holding out an all too familiar ring box. Amanda knew her eyes were the size of saucers. How had he managed to find that? She had hidden it all the way in the back of the closet. Then she remembered how abruptly she had left. She must have knocked it on the floor and not even noticed. She could feel her cheeks beginning to redden with embarrassment. He must think she was the biggest fool in the world for holding onto that ring after all this time. She didn’t know what to say and was too mortified to face him so she looked down at the comforter.  
Brian lifts her chin to look into her eyes. “Look at me...there’s something I want to ask you.”  
“What?” She manages to squeak out. She knew what was coming next. He would ask her why in the world she still had the ring. She didn’t know what she would say.  
“Will you marry me?” He asks, eyes gleaming with tears. If she hadn’t heard the words with her own ears she would have never believed it.  
“What did you say?”  
“I asked you if you would spend the rest of your life with me.”  
“Well, of course I will.” She answers, still mystified about what just happened.  
“Good, put this back on your finger where it belongs. This time I don’t want you to ever take it off. Promise?”  
“I promise.”

********  
“Hi Stace! When were you planning on coming back to Ohio and packing for the tour?”  
“I have a flight this afternoon. Why?”  
“Well, as it turns out I won’t need the storage locker I rented so if you want to put the rest of your stuff in there till after the tour that would be fine.” Amanda says, trying to hide her giddiness.   
“Oh really? Well, why don’t you need it now?”  
“Oh, I found a new place to put my things that’s all.”  
“Hmmm...This new place wouldn’t be at your boyfriend’s house would it?”  
“No.”  
“Huh?”  
“The new place would be my fiancée’s house actually.”  
Splat ! Stacey spit out the big gulp of bottled water she had been slurping down while talking to Amanda.  
“Did you say fiancée?”  
“That’s what I said.”  
“Well congratulations! It’s about time you two came to your senses already! So looks like I will have some company on the tour huh?”  
“Yea! We’re going to have so much fun! I think-what the hell do you do on tour anyway?”  
“Hell if I know I’m just going to tell them when they’re spending too much money.”  
“Ha, ha! Well, from what I hear you will be quite the busy woman! Well anyway, just give us a call when you’re ready to fly in. Do you need any help packing? I could stick around.”  
“No...you probably want to get back to your love nest. It’s bad enough that I’m going to have to make a serious effort not to picture you two doing indecent things in our apartment.”  
“We didn’t do any indecent things...”  
Stacey can tell by the way Amanda is trailing off that if the walls could talk they would say a mouthful. “Fine. Talk to you later.”  
“Okay, bye!”

The Tour Begins...  
The living arrangement with Brian, Amanda, and Stacey all under one roof did not prove to be problematic and before they know it, it is time to leave on the tour. It is going to last from June 10th- September 1st. Stacey has already begun looking at the numbers from the previous tour and can’t quite figure out what happened.  
“These numbers just aren’t adding up...” She confides to Amanda in Chicago. They are sitting in the stands during the guys’ rehearsal for their first show.   
“What do you mean?” Amanda asks, puzzled.  
“Their last tour grossed over $750,000 after the expenses were deducted. They should have made money, not lost it.”  
Amanda’s eyes grow large. She exclaims, “Are you sure you didn’t just miscalculate something?”  
Stacey looks at her like she is a complete idiot. After all, she didn’t have a Bachelors degree in Accounting for nothing. She knew something wasn’t right. She needed to talk to Johnny. She also had a feeling her second degree would come in handy in solving the mystery.   
Amanda shrugs it all off. Stacey probably made a mistake somewhere and she would find it. In the meantime, she was enjoying watching Brian perform.  
The Next Day...  
“Hi Johnny, this is Stacey, I think there’s something we need to discuss...” Stacey called Johnny first thing in the morning after the first show. Whatever was going on, they had to get to the bottom of it soon before the guys went bankrupt.  
“Oh lord, don’t tell me they’re going crazy buying ridiculous things already!” Johnny could still see the last tour in his mind. If they had ice sculptures at the shows again, he was going to kill them!  
“No, no nothing like that. In fact, I’ve been going over the figures from the last tour and they just aren’t adding up.”  
“What do you mean?” He asks.  
“I’ve added and re-added the numbers and they’re showing a $750,000 profit. There’s no way the last tour didn’t make any money.”  
“Is there any way that you could be mistaken?”  
Stacey rolls her eyes. If one more person asks me that, I swear I’m going to scream!  
“No, believe me, that’s what the numbers are showing. I re-did the math at least twenty times.”  
“Well, I just can’t understand how that amount of money could just vanish into thin air...”  
“That’s the thing, I don’t think it did vanish. I think maybe now is the time to tell you about my other degree.”  
“What degree is that?”  
“Criminal Justice.” Stacey states, matter-of-factly.  
“Criminal Justice? You mean like police, ‘bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do?’”  
“Something like that”, what the fuck?, “anyway, I think we need to investigate the accounts payable department at the label. Something isn’t right. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone was skimming the profits to line their own pockets”, Stacey smiled. I always wanted to say that.  
“How are you going to investigate if you’re on tour with them? Do you want to come back?” Johnny asks.  
“No, I don’t want them to suspect something is up until we know what’s going on. Who knows, maybe there’s a logical explanation for this discrepancy, but we still need to check it out.”  
“Again I say, how are we going to do that when you’re traveling all over the world?” Johnny asks, in an annoyed voice.  
“I may need you to play detective back at the label. Keep your eyes open. See if there is anyone that is acting suspiciously. In the meantime, I’ll stay close to the guys and see if they have any information that may be useful.”  
“You don’t plan on telling them do you? After all, we don’t even know if this is a legitimate concern yet. We don’t have any proof.”  
Stacey decides that it is a good idea to let that last remark slide. After all, Johnny was one of the reasons she got the job in the first place. So he doesn’t believe me...fine...I’ll just have to figure this out on my own.   
“No, I don’t plan on telling them. Don’t worry.” Stacey retorts, annoyed.  
“OK, if I have any new information for you I will let you know.” click.  
Shortly after getting off the phone with Stacey there is a knock on the door of Johnny’s office. He opens the door and smiles. There was his go-to man. The guy he could always count on to get things done.  
“Hey Eddie, What’s up?” Johnny asks.  
“Hi Johnny, actually I wanted to talk to you about something.” Eddie answers with a frown.  
“Okay, what is it?” Johnny asks. This day just keeps getting better and better.  
“I’ve been working here at the label for five years, correct?”  
“Um, yes...” Johnny looks at him puzzled trying to figure out what his point is.  
“Well, I was more than a little insulted that instead of sending me on tour with BSB this summer you sent some unknown accountant that you’ve never even worked with. I just can’t figure that out. To tell you the truth, I’m thinking about quitting.”  
“I guess I can see your point but you don’t know the whole story. I gave them a list of prospective accountants and they rejected them all because Brian’s friend knew someone that...”  
“...and they would probably rather go on tour with someone they knew right?” Eddie finishes Johnny’s sentence.   
“I guess so, but to tell you the truth I’m a little uneasy about the way things are going. She’s now claiming the last tour made a substantial profit and even suggested that someone is stealing from the profits.”  
Eddie did his best to conceal his shock. He had to play it cool for his plan to work. “Well, I think I have the solution to the problem.”  
“Oh, what’s that?”  
“How about I go on tour with them. I could help this girl figure out where she made her mistake.”  
“That’s a great idea! How soon can you be ready to go?”  
“Yesterday.”  
********  
“What in the hell is Eddie doing here?” AJ asks grumpily.  
Stacey rolls her eyes. Obviously Johnny thought she was way out of her league and sent another accountant. Now it would be even harder to find out what actually happened on the last tour. “Johnny obviously sent another accountant because he thinks I can’t handle it myself.”  
“That’s pretty shitty. I think you’re doing great!”  
“I’m glad someone does.”  
“I mean, take me for example. I haven’t bought anything extravagant since the tour started! Do you see a ten foot ice sculpture anywhere?” He asks with a grin.  
“No, and I for one am disappointed. I heard they looked pretty cool.”  
“Oh dude, they were way chic! You think I’m handsome now, you should have seen my likeness carved into ice. Johnny just doesn’t share my vision.”  
“No, Johnny wants to make sure your vision makes money. Without money, how is your vision going to have an outlet?”  
“You know, I’m starting to like you more and more. Listen, after the show tonight, do you want to go out with me, maybe go dancing?”  
“Dancing? Don’t you do enough dancing on-stage? You’ll be exhausted by the end of the show. I couldn’t do that to you.”  
A.J. scratches his head and then smiles. “Oh, I get it, you can’t dance huh? Well, don’t worry, I’m a seasoned professional I’ll show you how.”  
“How kind of you. I’m afraid I’ll have to pass, though.”  
A.J. walks away and Amanda sees Stacey chuckling. I ask, “What was that all about? And I should warn you that before you pass judgment, I believe that A.J. really was dropped on his head as a child.”  
“Well first he tells me that I’m a highly effective accountant because he hasn’t bought any ice sculptures of himself and then he asked me to go to a club with him after the show tonight.”  
“Really?!” The raise in Amanda’s voice lets Stacey know that she would be happy if she and A.J. hooked up.  
“Don’t get excited. I turned him down. Then he accused me of not being able to dance.”  
“Why did you turn him down? As far as the not being able to dance thing, since when do you shy away from proving someone wrong? You should go with him tonight. What harm could it do?”  
“Dream on, Amanda, I have work to do.”   
“Oh yes, I’ve heard that lame ass excuse before. Spare me. You know you want to go. GO for crying out loud!”  
“Sorry, I’m busy.” Stacey walks away leaving Amanda with little to do but roll her eyes.  
**********  
Meanwhile, A.J. and the rest of the guys are still backstage after their sound check. “So, Alex, you were shut down weren’t you my friend?” Asks Howard.  
“Howard, when you are teasing me it is inappropriate to call me Alex. You can tease A.J. all you want but you and I both know that Alex can kick your ass.” A.J had always been his stage name, but those he let get close enough called him Alex. Howard and the rest of the guys got to call him Alex.  
“So you’re saying you did get shut down, huh? I knew it! You’re slipping dude.” Brian butts in.  
“Okay, fine, if you must know, I asked her to go dancing after the show tonight and she told me that I would probably be too tired, ok? She’s obviously concerned with my well-being.”  
“Sure dude, she’s concerned with that and letting you down easy. Let it go dude, you were turned down.” Nick retorts.  
“Fine, fine, I’ve been turned down for now. But she doesn’t know what she’s in for. No one turns down Alex McLean! It’s on!”  
That earns him three consecutive rolls of the eyes. Who says these guys weren’t in sync? (ha, ha)

-Later That Night-  
Brian and Amanda are laying in bed talking. She asks, “What do you think the deal is with AJ asking Stacey out?”  
“I wouldn’t know. He just thinks she’s cute I guess.”  
“I know but.. well, you know his history with women. She’s my best friend. Should I be worried at all?”  
“No, he’s basically harmless. Besides, from what I gather the fool got shut down anyway. His ego didn’t take that too well.” Brian says with a laugh.  
“So do you think he’ll be pursuing her again?”  
“Oh, probably. He can be quite stubborn, especially when he sets his mind to something. Why are you so worried about this babe?”  
“I’m not worried I’m just a little concerned. I know Stacey. She’s not interested in a casual fling and I’m worried that is what AJ is looking for.”  
“Don’t worry. Stacey seems to have it together. She knows what she wants, if Alex can’t give her that then she won’t give him the time of day. Put it out of your mind. In the meantime, I intend on sitting back and enjoying the show. He has been known to make quite a jackass out of himself to impress a girl.”  
“OK...” Amanda is less than reassured.

The Next Day...  
Stacey can’t help but wonder if Johnny’s lack of faith in her is the only reason for Eddie’s sudden appearance on the tour. So, she decides there is only one way to find out. During rehearsals, she spots Eddie sitting in the stands watching the guys perform. She decides that now is as good a time as any to introduce herself.  
“Hi, I’m Stacey, the guys’ accountant.” She replies, attempting to hide her annoyance.  
“Hi, I’m Eddie. Nice to meet you. I’m an accountant as well back at the label. Listen, I hope you don’t feel threatened by my being here. It’s just that I’ve overseen the guys finances during the past two tours. Johnny just thought that my perspective would be valuable to someone new to the job, such as yourself.”  
That was when the light bulb went on. Eddie had been involved with the last two tours, the ones the guys had supposedly made no profit on. The only problem was that the numbers simply weren’t adding up. Something told Stacey that this guy knew more than he let on and she intended to find out exactly what he knew. In order to do that, however, she would have to spend some time with him. In fact, she would have to spend a lot of time with him.   
“So Eddie, I was wondering, would you like to go out for dinner and maybe some dancing tonight? Afterall, maybe your perspective could help me shed some light on some things.”  
“Sure! I’d like that. How about 8:00?” Eddie asks excitedly.  
“OK see you then.”  
“OK, meet you in the hotel lobby.” Eddie departs with a beaming smile on his face.  
************  
“Stacey, would you mind explaining something to me?” Amanda asks Stacey later that night as she is getting ready for her “date”.  
“Yea, what?” Stacey asks distractedly.  
“Why is it that you have time to go out to dinner and dancing with Eddie but you didn’t have time to do the same thing with AJ just last night?”  
“I got a break in my schedule OK?” Stacey retorts, annoyed.  
“Bull shit! I’m not buying it! What are you up to?”   
“Amanda, why don’t you go back to your hotel room with Brian and mind your own business.” Stacey replies in a tone she commonly used when she was PMSing.  
“Fine, forget it.” Amanda leaves the room exasperated.

-Meanwhile, downstairs in the hotel lobby-  
“So, AJ, tell us do you know where Stacey is going tonight?” Both Nick and Howie ask in unison.  
Brian just laughs. He knows where this will lead.  
“Why don’t the two of you just kiss my ass. I don’t see either one of you with a girlfriend.”   
Howie’s heart started to beat faster in his chest. Relax..just relax. They don’t suspect anything. He looked at Nick. If they only knew... Then he got that all to familiar ache inside. The one that told him there were some things that could just never be.  
“D, are you okay?” AJ asks as Howie stares into space.  
“Yea dude I’m fine I’m not the one that got passed over for some accountant.” Howie retorts, greatful to get the attention off of him.  
“Yea bro, maybe you should consider batting for the other team.” Nick adds.   
“Nick if I were you I would keep my mouth shut. We both know I can kick your ass.” AJ fires back.  
“OK guys, as much as I’d like to stand here in this lobby and listen to this nonsense, I’d like to check into my hotel room. You know, I have a lady waiting on me, unlike the rest of you.” Brian replies with a smart ass grin on his face. Then he walks away leaving them all with their mouths hanging open.  
“You know, it’s always the quiet ones that turn out to be the biggest pricks.” AJ says, shaking his head. They all nod in agreement and head up to their rooms.

************  
Stacey puts on the sexiest outfit she can find. “Might as well make it look like I actually care about this date”. She says out loud to herself. Just as she is about to leave the room she remembers the tape recorder she brought with her. At the time she had no idea why she had packed it, but at the last minute she had thrown it in her bag.   
“This I may need.” She puts it in her purse and walks out the door. She wondered how she was going to pretend she wanted to be with Eddie when she could only think of one guy. Let it go, Stacey. You know he’s just looking for a good time, nothing serious. Who needs a guy like that? Stacey forced herself to turn off her thoughts as she headed down to the lobby to meet Eddie. I just hope I can get him to open up to me. I will have to lay on my “good girl” charm.  
She is met by a smiling Eddie at the bottom of the stairs. “Damn girl you look hot. Ready to have some fun?”  
“I just hope you can keep up with me. After all, I have been dancing since I was three.” Stacey replies, trying to hide her repulsion at Eddie calling her hot.  
“Oh I’m sure I can. I’ve had plenty of experience with pretty girls.”  
Eddie leads Stacey to his brand new 2010 Hummer in the parking lot. Immediately alarm bells went off in Stacey’s head. If we’re both accountants why is he driving a new Hummer and I still drive a PT? Only one way to find out. “Where did you get the car?”  
“I bought that this past Fall. It was a particularly good year for me. Got some Summer bonuses if you know what I mean.”  
“You toured with the guys last Summer didn’t you?” Stacey asks.  
“Uh…yea. In fact, I toured with them the past two Summers.” Stacey could sense Eddie starting to stiffen up. She decides to let the matter rest for now. However, she did get him on tape talking about his “Summer bonuses” and she intended on asking Johnny about it the next chance she got.  
Eddie kept a tight lip the rest of the night and Stacey wasn’t able to get any more relevant information out of him. So, she decided to make plans with him two days later when the guys started their three night engagement in Orlando, Florida. “So, Eddie, you’re from Orlando right?” Stacey asks.  
“Sure, why?”  
“Well, I’ve never been there before. I was wondering if you’d be interested in showing me around for the three days we’ll be there.”  
“Sure, I’d like that.” Eddie answers with a smile.  
Stacey began to relax. This would give her a few days to talk to Johnny about what Eddie could have meant by his “Summer bonuses” and if these bonuses came out of the guys’ pockets. She slowly made her way up to her hotel room. She was surprised to see Alex sitting in front of her door.  
“Did you have a good time?” He asked angrily.  
“Yea, it was OK. What are you doing here? Your room is down the hall.” Stacey asks, not even trying to hide her annoyance.  
“I wanted to talk to you. I asked you out dancing last night and you said no, that you were too busy, or I would be tired, or whatever the fuck you said. Now you go out with Eddie, the guy whose presence makes you feel threatened. Now why is that? Explain that to me!” Alex demands.  
“Ok, well first of all, who I go out with is absolutely none of your business. Second of all, I was just trying to be nice the other night and let you down easily. You aren’t what I’m looking for. Lastly, I don’t feel threatened by Eddie. He’s a nice guy and we had a wonderful time tonight. In fact, when we get to Orlando he is taking me around site seeing.” Stacey answers angrily.  
“I’ve lived in Florida my whole life. I could have taken you site seeing. What does he have that I don’t have?” Alex retorts.  
“From where I’m standing there is only one thing he has that you don’t have.”  
“And just what is that?”  
“A clue.” At that, she pushes him out of the way and goes into her hotel room. The nerve of that jackass.  
Alex is more than a little remiss at being dismissed this way. So, he makes his way next door to Amanda and Brian’s room. He begins pounding on the door and yelling.  
“Amanda! Brian! I need to talk to you!”  
“What the hell does he want?” Brian whispers to Amanda, unable to hide his annoyance.  
“Just ignore him and he’ll go away. Kiss me you sexy thing…”  
“My pleasure…” Brian begins kissing Amanda and running his fingers through her hair. He looks down and realizes that her top is still on. “We gotta get this off now so I can see those breasts…”  
“Amanda! Brian!” Alex’s pounding and yelling continues despite the couple’s best attempts to ignore him.  
“I’ll go get rid of him…” Brian says with a roll of his eyes. He opens the door to find Alex with his hands on his hips look exasperated.  
“What’s up dude?” Brian asks.  
“Do you know that Stacey was out with Eddie tonight?! Eddie! After she shot me down last night! Can you believe the nerve of that woman?! Then she had the nerve to push me out of the way when I met her at her hotel room door tonight!” Retorts Alex, rarely stopping to take a breath.  
“Dude maybe it’s because she doesn’t want to go out with you, now if you’ll excuse me…”  
“No! No! I refuse to stand by and take this! “  
“Dude, go to your room. Amanda and I are trying to enjoy some private time together and you’re interrupting. Just go to your room and take a cold shower.”  
“Oh, sorry brother…” He peaks his head inside the hotel room, looks at Amanda sprawled out on the bed and says, “Ya’ll have fun now!” and gives her a thumbs up.  
After he leaves Amanda says to Brian, “I’m starting to support the theory that he was dropped on his head as a child.”  
“Well, enough about him…all I can think about is making love to you.” Brian answers breathlessly.  
“Take my shirt off…I want your hands on me right now.”  
Brian gently removes her shirt and a smile spreads across his face. “What?” Amanda asks.  
“I’ve been dreaming about what I would do to these beautiful breasts all day.” He replies.  
“Enough talk, why don’t you show me…”  
At that, he removes her bra and she can feel his hot breath on her aching nipples. She wanted to feel his mouth on her. As if reading her mind, Brian begins to lick and suckle her right breast. “Mmmm…..” he moans.  
“God you taste so good.” Brian gasps.  
“Ohhhh….” Amanda whimpers as Brian continues to love her with his tongue. He takes one breast in his hand and begins to fondle it greedily.   
“You fit so perfectly in my hand.” Brian observes.  
“I know they’re small.” Amanda sighs, looking away.  
“No baby. That’s not what I meant. I love how they fit so tightly in my hand. They’re just enough. They’re exactly what I want. You’re exactly what I want.” Brian answers gently.  
“Oh baby I love you.” Amanda smiles.  
“I love you…” Brian stops talking as he takes her left breast in his mouth sucking wildly. He could feel himself getting hard but he wanted to give Amanda a night she would never forget. He wanted to take his time.   
Amanda was writhing beneath his mouth. To Brian’s surprise, Amanda suddenly stopped him. “I want you naked. I want to see you.” She breathes.  
“Undress me then…”  
Amanda began by removing his shirt and unbuttoning his pants. She captures his mouth in an eager kiss. She pulls his pants down and can see his throbbing hard penis sticking up through his boxer shorts. She then removes his boxers revealing what had been implied before.  
Brian can’t help but be a little puzzled, if he didn’t know any better he would think that Amanda was about to….  
“OH!” He cries out as Amanda begins sucking on his already engorged penis.   
“Oh don’t stop baby! Don’t stop! Please don’t stop!” He begs as she begins running her hot tongue up and down, up and down. She takes the full length of him in her mouth and begins to suck gently.  
“Mmmmmm….oh….oh GOD!”  
“Do you like that?” She asks coyly.  
“OOOOHHHHHH!”  
Amanda begins sucking harder and faster, harder and faster until Brian is on the brink of losing complete control. “Baby I’m gonna cum, I’m cumming!” Brian cries as he spills hot liquid onto the bed.  
“Did you like that?” Amanda asks slyly.  
“Like that? Baby the way I feel right now I could make love to you all night long.”  
“Good because that’s what I have in mind. I did you now you have to do me.” Amanda whispers. Brian doesn’t say another word. He kneels down between Amanda’s thighs. She can feel his hot breath against her wet and waiting pussy.   
“Please…” Brian can tell what she is begging for. However, he wants to make her beg for it. He begins by dipping one finger inside her damp curls. He continues to do so ever so gently. “Rub me! Please! Rub me now!”  
He starts rubbing her swollen nub with his forefinger. Up, down, up, down…. Amanda is writhing on the bed on the edge of release. She begins bucking wildly aching for release. Brian can sense that she is on the brink and decides the time is right to give her what she wants most. He dips his tongue inside her curls.  
“OOOOHHHH!”   
He continues to love her with his tongue. “God baby you taste so fucking good…”  
Amanda continues to writhe and buck on the bed occasionally letting out a whimper of ecstasy. “Oh god…oh….”  
Brian starts to pick up the pace faster and faster until, “OH GOD!!!!!!” Brian can feel the wetness on his tongue as Amanda finds her release.  
“Baby I need you now…” Amanda whines as Brian takes a moment to slip on a condom. “Hurry…please hurry…” She begins to beg.  
With the condom in place, Brian eases his weight on top of her and with one smooth thrust he was home. He begins to move in and out. Amanda finds one round, tight male ass cheek and begins to squeeze. “God baby your ass is so damn sexy.” She breathes.  
“I’m glad you like it.”  
“I do…”  
“Not as much as I like your tight wet pussy.” He smiles.  
Amanda is not able to form a response as he begins to quickly pump in and out, in and out until she is mindless with arousal. She wraps her arms around him, feeling as if she could spiral out of control.   
“More! Harder!” She begs.  
Brian picks up the pace. The pressure is building. Amanda could feel it growing down deep inside until finally she screams her release, “OHHHHHH!” Brian followed soon after and they collapse in each other’s arms.  
“God baby, you were incredible.” She moans.  
“Not bad huh?”  
“I feel so satisfied…”   
“It doesn’t have to be over unless you want it to be…”   
“What do you mean?” She asks, puzzled.  
“Have you ever thought about uh….” He looks down at her ass.  
“What do you….Oh….um….that could be fun.” She answers, a little flustered.  
“Are you sure? I don’t want to do anything you’re not comfortable with…”  
“Oh, I’m comfortable.” She reassures him.  
He takes the lube out of the drawer and rubs a few drops onto his dick. Then he puts a few drops on his forefinger and inserts it into her ass. “Oooh…that’s cold….” She giggles.  
“Not cold for long….” He trails off as he ever so gently eases inside her ass.  
“Oh god Amanda it’s….it’s so tight….”  
She isn’t able to answer, as she grabs hold of the head board to stabilize herself.   
“Are you okay? I don’t want to hurt you…” He whispers.  
“Oh….you’re not…you’re not hurting me just….keep doing that…” She begs.  
“OK….” He begins to move slowly, ever so slowly….  
“Ooooohhhhhh” She crows, “more…give me more….”  
He picks up the pace, moving quicker in and out, in and out. “Oh! It feels so good!” She screams. She begins to move with him, begging for more.  
“Baby…if you keep moving like that…I won’t be able to control myself…” He warns.  
“Good!” She exclaims, continuing to move with him. He begins to pump wildly. Without warning, he reaches around her and finds her pussy with his right hand. He finds the swollen, hard nub and begins to rub.   
“OH…OH…I can’t take it!” She screams. She begins to writhe beneath his touch. His dick continues to pump in and out of her ass as his hand continues its ministrations on her hot, wet pussy.   
“Oh Brian!” She screams her release as he spills his seed into her ass.   
Both Amanda and Brian slump onto the bed completely exhausted. After he catches his breath, he rolls over and whispers into her ear, “I want to make love like that for the rest of our lives. I’ll never get tired of giving you pleasure or hearing you scream my name.”  
“I want to feel like this for the rest of our lives. I am so in love with you.” She answers.  
“I want to marry you. I want you to be mine forever.” He says.  
“I want to marry you too. That’s why I said yes.”  
“When?” He asks with a smile.  
“Yesterday.” She smiles back.  
“Well, I can’t marry you yesterday but I can marry you as soon as this tour is over. Now come here, I want to hold you.”  
“Oh Brian….”  
“I want to hold you for the rest of my life.” They drift off to sleep in each others arms.  
-Two Days Later-  
Stacey meets an eager Eddie at the lobby of the hotel they will be staying at in Orlando. She can feel her skin start to crawl as she notices him staring her up and down. If he thinks he’s getting any he’s dreaming. I wish he would just confess already. It’s bad enough I have to hang out with this jackass, but I also have McLean driving me crazy and sticking his nose in where it doesn’t belong.   
Stacey is jolted out of her thoughts when Eddie says, “Well hi there sweet thing. How are you doing today?”  
“I’m doing fine. So, where are you taking me today?” She asks.  
“Oh, just around. I thought you’d like to see several different places.” He replies slyly. Oh she’ll be seeing plenty of different places. Including my hotel room later tonight.   
They make their way to the car and Eddie opens the door for her. Stacey can’t figure out why he is trying so hard to impress her…it’s not like she’s interested in him. But he doesn’t know that. Remember your cover. She looked down at her purse and thought of the tape recorder she had stashed there. She already had some things on tape that sounded suspicious but none that would prove guilt. She had to get him to open up more. She had a feeling the guys would never make a profit as long as this guy was involved with their finances. To make matters worse, Johnny didn’t believe her. She needed hard evidence.  
A few hours later….  
Eddie takes her to the beach and asks her to take a walk with him. It is getting later in the day and not many people are there. Stacey figures this is her chance to get him to open up more.   
“So Eddie, I have one question to ask you.” Stacey replies coyly.  
“OK, ask away my dear.” He smiles.  
“You’re an accountant and I’m an accountant…”  
“Yea…” This is it! She’s going to tell me we have so much in common and she wants to get to know me better and some such shit and then BOOM! She’ll be putty in my hands. Eddie, you are good you are so good.  
“Well, I’m not driving around in a brand new Hummer. What gives?”  
“Well…” Stacey notices Eddie Squirming a little. “The thing is, I’ve been involved with some big name talent and I’ve done pretty well. That’s all.”  
“OK Eddie, since you were involved with the last two tours with the guys, I have to ask you, why do you think the profits aren’t adding up? I’ve calculated them over and over and they just don’t add up. Those tours should have made a profit.” Stacey presses a little harder.  
“They did.” He answers looking away.  
“What do you mean they did? Johnny sent me on this tour because he is afraid the guys will go bankrupt. I feel like I don’t know all there is to know here.” She questions.  
“Why are you so worried about it anyway? You know how this business works. Sometimes you have to take care of yourself if you know what I mean.” He retorts, annoyed.  
At that moment, Stacey glances into her purse to make sure the tape recorder is still rolling. She had a feeling her “dream man” was about to blab.   
“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean…explain it to me....”   
“Look, I’ve been working at that damn label for years…no raise, no nothing, working for people like these guys that wouldn’t know hard work if it jumped up and bit them in the ass. So I might have made sure I got my fair share of the profits. So what? After everything I have done for them I had the right! Thanks to my own intelligence I now have things I never had. So score one for me!” He retorts angrily.  
“What do you mean by ‘fair share’ of the profits?” She asks, still trying to play it cool.  
“You know what I mean baby, so I took a few thousand. No big deal. It’s not like they’re smart enough to figure it out. I’m a man who gets what he wants. In fact, there is something else I want to…” he leans in close about to kiss her. Stacey can sense this and steps away.  
“Look Eddie, it’s getting late and I promised Amanda I’d be at the show tonight. Would you drive me back?” She asks.  
“Sure. Hey listen, you’re not upset about what I told you are you?” He asks, a little nervous.  
“No, it’s like you said. It’s all about getting what you deserve.” She answers with a smile. She had a plan that would ensure Eddie would get just what he deserved.  
When they arrive back at the venue Stacey excuses herself saying she has to go to the restroom. While gone she calls Johnny and fills him in on what she found out about Eddie. Just to make sure he believed her, she played him the tape of Eddie confessing to stealing the money. She tells Johnny to contact the authorities and have them there as soon as possible to make an arrest. After apologizing over and over again for not having enough faith in her, Johnny agrees to do so.  
-The Concert Begins-  
After performing their opening song, the guys take a few minutes to talk to the fans. The fans can’t help but notice that Alex is not himself. Finally, a female fan in the front row yells, “AJ, what’s wrong?”  
“What’s wrong?! I’ll tell ya what’s wrong! I liked this girl….”  
Nick, Howie, and Brian all roll their eyes. They all knew Alex was not going to be happy until he made a complete ass out of himself.   
“I thought she liked me to so I asked her out. Well, not only did she turn me down cold but then she turned around and asked out this dorky ass accountant….sorry Eddie. I swear I’m giving up on women!” He exclaims.  
“Well thank God!” the other four guys say in unison.  
The concert is interrupted by the sound of police sirens. The next thing anyone knows Eddie is being handcuffed about put into the back seat of a police car. Brian, Alex, Howie, and Nick all stare in shock. After the police speed away, Alex says, “What the fuck…I mean heck…just happened?”  
“Nice McLean, we’re a family show.” Retorts Brian annoyedly.  
At that moment Stacey storms onstage. “Look, since you’re too thick headed to understand what happened I’ll tell you. I went undercover to catch Eddie. I knew he was the reason the last two tours didn’t make any money and I figured by spending time with him I could get him to confess.” Stacey rolls her eyes.  
“Wait…wait…wait…so you never liked Eddie?” Alex asks, confused.  
“You’re catching up” Stacey answers.  
“Oh, so you really do like me.” He says with an arrogant grin.  
“No, I don’t like thick headed arrogant guys.” She replies.  
“Whatever. You just wouldn’t go dancing with me because you can’t dance.” He sighs.  
“Excuse me, I’ve been dancing since I was three. I could dance circles around you and not some lame choreographed shit either.”   
“Lame choreographed shit?!” The rest of the guys start shaking their head. They can tell this is not going to end well.  
“That’s what I said!”  
“You can’t dance!” Alex insists.  
“Why? You think just because I’m a thick madame I can’t dance? That’s fine. Bring it on.” Stacey says.  
“What’s a thick madame?” Nick asks Brian, clueless.  
“You know dude…it’s a lady with a little…” Brian is trying to put it delicately.  
“OH! You mean fat chicks?!” Nick exclaims. Brian says nothing. He simply shakes his head.  
Stacey and Alex don’t say another word and begin their dance off with thousands of screaming fans behind them. Alex starts by doing an all too familiar dance move. “I said no choreographed shit! We’ve all seen that move before.”  
The crowd starts to chuckle. “Larger Than Life” starts to play and Stacey starts dancing. It is like nothing the crowd has ever seen before. Alex stands there dumb founded. He finally starts to dance again, but once again it is an all too familiar choreographed move. Stacey starts to laugh and so does the crowd. She starts to dance again. This time, even more energized and original than before. When she is finished Alex just stares at her.  
“OK, fine, you win this dance off.” He concedes.  
“I knew that I would.” She replies confidently.  
“Will you at least give me a chance and go on one date with me? That’s all I’m asking for. Just one date.” He asks.  
“OK, that’s fair.” Stacey answers with a smile.  
-After the show, backstage-  
“So, Alex, your girl…or should I say your wannabe girl went undercover…” Howie teases.  
“Yea, she went undercover to try to catch Eddie.” Brian grins.  
“She went undercover to try and help us out and you were…how can I put it?” Nick asks.  
“I know how!” Brian and Howie exclaim.  
“She went undercover and he was jealous!!!!!” They all three say in unison.  
“You know what, screw you guys! I got a date didn’t I?!” He retorts.  
“Yea, cuz she felt sorry for your lame dancing skills.” Brian laughs.  
Alex just rolls his eyes and leaves the room. Just wait till they see how she falls in love with me. I’ll show them!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A.J. finally wants to settle down but is Stacey ready for the commitment? Howie and Nick have a secret, but only one is ready to tell it.

Promises Kept  
Four Months Later….  
Amanda woke up with a sigh. She sleepily reached beside her to touch the man she loved. They had married two months earlier in a small, quiet ceremony in front of family and friends. Now, in two short days they would spend their first Christmas together as a married couple. Amanda instantly became more awake as she realized that Brian was not beside her as she had expected. She rolled over and looked at the alarm clock. 9 a.m. he is never up this early…where could he be? She quickly got out of bed and wandered down the hall looking for any sign of her husband. Finally, she heard the water turn on in the shower. She realized that he must have gotten an early start and silently made her way downstairs to make breakfast.   
About thirty minutes later, Brian made his way down the stairs and took her in his arms from behind. “Damn baby, I don’t know what smells better…that bacon or you.”  
“Very funny. What got you out of bed so early? I usually have to drag you out of bed at this time.” She asks.  
“Oh, I gotta meet that bonehead McLean. Here it is December 23rd and he still hasn’t gotten Stacey a Christmas gift…” he shrugs.  
“Maybe he didn’t think they would still be together at this time.” She frowns.  
“Baby, trust me, if I thought he was up to his old tricks I would tell you. But I think this time is different for him. He has never bought a Christmas gift for a girl in his life. It’s kind of cute.” He reassures her with his usual charming, ornery grin.   
Amanda just shrugged. She still had her reservations about this relationship and she didn’t want her best friend getting hurt. She forced herself to stop thinking about that and focus on something else. “You do still have time for breakfast don’t you?”  
“Oh yea, he can wait. I want to start my day off right.”  
“With a healthy breakfast?” She asks.  
“No, looking at you.” He answers and kisses her deeply on the lips.  
“Mmmm…” a small moan escapes her lips.  
“Hold that thought baby, I have plans for us later…”  
Amanda didn’t know what that meant but she was looking forward to it already.  
Meanwhile, about ten miles away…  
Howie sat down on his couch deep in thought. In his hand he held the picture of him and the guys during the last tour. He looked down and saw his arm around Nick. They looked like the best of friends. Maybe even brothers. Deep down he knew that wasn’t the way he felt. It wasn’t the way he felt at all. He threw the picture down beside him and paced the floor. He didn’t know what the hell to do. If he told him the truth, what would he say? What would THEY say? His life would be turned upside down if they ever found out. Maybe it already had been turned upside down and there was no turning back.  
His thoughts are interrupted by a knock at the door. “Oh, hi Nick.” He tries to keep a calm, cool, and collected front. He had been rehearsing that act for years.   
“Hey.”   
That is all that Nick says but he can tell he has something on his mind.   
“Is something wrong?” He asks.  
“Yea…way wrong. I don’t even know where to start.” He sits down and puts his face in his hands.   
“What are you talking about? You know you can tell me anything.” Howie reassures him.  
“Why?” Nick suddenly looks up at him and deep into his eyes.  
“Why what?” Howie asks nervously.  
“Why can I tell you everything? Everything except the one thing I want to tell you more than anything in the world?!” Nick yells in frustration.  
Howie sits next to him and takes his face in his hands. “Look at me. Just say it.” He urges.  
Without saying a word Nick leans in and kisses Howie deeply on the lips. At first they just look at each other, both trying to catch their breath. “What are you doing?” Howie asks, afraid that he had imagined the moment like he had so many times.  
“Can’t you see? It’s always been there between us. This attraction. I tried so hard to deny it. To pretend it wasn’t there. But it’s there. I can’t lie to myself anymore. I’m in love with you. I want to be with you, more than I have ever wanted anything in my life.”  
Howie can feel the tears coming. But instead of giving in to them, he took Nick in his arms and began kissing him again. This time he initiated the contact. He began loving his mouth with his tongue. Nick leaned in closer and hungrily kissed him back. Carefully, Howie eased Nick’s body onto the couch and eased himself on top. Feeling Nick under him felt wonderful but he wanted more. He knew he was growing harder by the minute. “Mmmmm….” He moaned as he continued to thrust his tongue in and out of Nick’s mouth. Soon he realized that he was not the only one that was getting hard.   
“God Howie I want you so bad…” Nick trails off gasping for air. With that, Nick starts unbuttoning Howie’s shirt. He then takes one hard male nipple in his mouth and gently suckles it.   
“Ah…shit…” Howie gasps. He can feel the tension building in his pants. Slowly, he reaches down his pants and caresses his aching, hard groin.   
“No, let me do that…” Nick insists. With that, he pulls down Howies pants and a smile instantly spreads across his face. “You are ready for me aren’t you big fella?” He says teasingly.  
“Yes…please….” Howie begs.  
Soon, Howie’s boxers hit the floor. Nick then realizes that Howie is the only one undressed. Howie realizes what Nick is thinking and begins undressing him as well. Soon nothing is left between them but skin. Suddenly, Howie says, “not here. I want to go upstairs and make love to you the way I have always wanted to. There’s no need to rush. I want to take my time and love you right.”  
He leads Nick upstairs to his king size bed. Nick sits on the side of the bed and Howie kneels down in front of him. Nick isn’t sure of Howie’s intentions until he begins to move his hand up and down Nick’s shaft.   
“Oh…Jesus Christ….” Nick is quickly losing strength but Howie isn’t finished. With one hand cupping Nick’s balls, he continues to squeeze and caress Nick’s shaft with the other.   
“What do you want?” Howie breathes.  
“You. I want you to suck me…” Nick begs.  
Howie pauses for a moment. When he still does nothing, Nick whimpers in desperation. “Please….”  
Without another word, Howie puts his hot mouth on Nick and begins to suck gently.   
“Damn you taste good….” Howie sighs.  
Nick says nothing but lets out a moan of ecstacy. Suddenly he realizes he is about to cum. “Howie, I’m coming….”   
Howie doesn’t stop his insistent sucking on Nick’s hard dick. Not even when Nick’s hot seed begins spilling into his mouth. “Mmmmm….” Howie moans.  
“Oh my God….” Nick exclaims. After catching his breath, he grabs Howie and eases him onto the bed. “I want to be inside you right now….”   
“What are you waiting for?” Howie asks.  
The next thing Howie knows, Nick licks his finger and puts it in Howie’s ass hole. “Oooh….” Then Nick thrusts his hard penis into Howie’s tight ass hole.   
“Oh God Howie, you’re so tight….” He moans. Howie doesn’t say a word as he holds onto the bed posts to stabilize himself. All he could think about was how much he wanted Nick to move. He had never felt anything so satisfying as having Nick inside him.   
“Fuck me Nick…please….” He begs.  
Nick begins to move in and out, in and out. “Oh God yes….” Howie breathes.  
“You like that?” Nick teases.  
“My dick is so hard…” Howie screams.  
Without another word, Nick reaches around to touch Howie’s penis. He gently begins tugging on it as be continues to move in and out of his ass. “I’m gonna cum…OH…..”  
Nick follows soon after and they both collapse on the bed.   
After they both catch their breath, Nick rolls over and takes Howie in his arms. He looks down at the clock next to the bed. “1:30 in the afternoon. Did you have any plans today?”  
“I don’t remember.” Howie laughs.  
“This sounds better to me.” Nick whispers.  
“I love you.” Howie sighs.  
“How long?” Nick asks.  
“A long time.” Howie confesses.  
“Me too.” Nick whispers.  
“What took you so long?” Howie asks as his eyes fill up with tears.  
“I was afraid if I told you the truth I might lose you.” Nick concedes.  
“Me too.” Howie agrees.  
“But I’m here now and I’m not going anywhere.” Nick promises.  
“Good.” That is the last thing either of them hear as they drift off into a contented sleep.  
Meanwhile, at the mall….  
“Ok dude, so what exactly are we looking for?” Brian asks, puzzled.  
“You’ll see.” AJ promises.  
Brian doesn’t know what to think as they make their way into a jewelry store. “Um….” He wonders aloud.  
The next thing Brian knows they are approached by a salesman who asks them what they are looking for. Brian nearly spits out his Starbucks coffee when AJ says, “I’m looking for an engagement ring.”  
AJ ignores the look of shock on Brian’s face as he begins perusing the engagement rings. “Dude, are you sure about this? You’ve only been dating four months.”  
“I am so sure. This just feels right.” AJ exclaims.  
“Well…that’s great man, I’m happy for you.” Brian smiles.  
“Good, now help me pick out a ring. This girl is really complicated.” AJ laughs.  
“If you ask me, you both are.” Brian laughs.  
Amanda is just getting out of the shower when the phone rings.   
“Want to hang out today?” Stacey asks.  
Amanda smiled. She loved the fact that Stacey had finally moved to Orlando and they were able to see each other a lot more.  
“Sure. I guess Brian and Alex are babysitting each other today.” Amanda laughs.  
“Oh really? What are they up to?” Stacey asks, curious.  
“Not sure…” Amanda answers. She did not want Stacey to know that they were at the mall getting her Christmas present, especially with Christmas only being two days away.  
“It’s hard to say. I know Alex mentioned wanted to do something tonight but I’m free this afternoon.”   
“Oh damn, we will have to find something fun to do together.” Amanda laughs.  
“Yea, that’s always tough. I’ll meet you at your house in ten minutes.”   
The girls hit the highway. It doesn’t take Amanda long to figure out that Stacey is driving in the direction of the mall.  
“Where are we going?” Amanda asks, worried.  
“Shopping of course…I need a new outfit. Alex is taking me to meet his mom and step dad.” She answers.  
“When?” Amanda asks.  
“Christmas day….”  
“Shit. Are you nervous?” Amanda pretends she does not already know the answer to this question.  
“Duh! Now it’s your job to help me find an outfit.” Stacey laughs.  
As Stacey is parking the car she happens to glance out her window and sees both Brian and Alex getting into Alex’s car.  
“It’s not like them to spend the morning shopping.” Stacey observes as the two men pull out of the parking lot.  
“Tell me about it. Brian was up even before I was this morning. Who knows, he is probably getting some last minute gifts. You know men. They put everything off till last minute.” Amanda says.  
“True that….”  
Amanda is standing at the fitting rooms while Stacey tries on at least her twentieth outfit. “So, do you think you and Alex are getting pretty serious?”  
“I’m not sure. I think so. I’m finding out he’s a pretty good guy once you get to know him.” Stacey answers, trying to play it cool. Amanda, as always, sees right through it. She decides to let the subject rest for the time being. “Stacey, for the love of God, will you pick an outfit already. I’m aging here!”  
“Which one did you like the best?” She asks.  
“That one. I told you three times already!” Amanda grumbles.  
“Ok, that one it is. Jeez, you don’t have to be so grouchy. I bet you were this nervous when you met Brian’s parents.” Stacey says with her hands on her hips.  
“Fair enough, but they will love you. You will see.” Amanda reassures her. Though she tried to pretend to be nonchalant, she was becoming more and more concerned about the relationship. She knew Stacey was falling in love, if she hadn’t fallen already. What if this wasn’t the right guy?  
Stacey drops Amanda off and heads home herself. Amanda hears Brian’s car pull into the driveway. She can’t help but smile. She had everything she ever wanted.   
“Hey baby.” He smiles as he opens the door.  
“Hey, welcome back.” She smiles back. “What did Alex end up getting Stacey?”  
Brian shakes his head. “You won’t believe”.  
“What?” Amanda asks, curious.  
“You have to promise not to say anything….”  
“Baby, you know you can trust me. What’s going on?” Amanda asks.  
“He bought an engagement ring. I think he plans on proposing soon.”  
Amanda promptly spits out her mouthful of Diet Mountain Dew and just stares at her husband for a moment. “I knew something was going on. Stacey called me this afternoon saying he is taking her to meet his parents in a few days.”  
“You seem upset.”  
“Not upset, just concerned.” She answers.  
“Don’t worry. I do think he loves her.”  
Amanda says nothing, just stares at him. “What are you thinking?” he asks.  
“How much I love you.” She smiles.  
He doesn’t say anything, just takes the last five steps between them and takes her in his arms. “You are so damn beautiful. My angel.”  
“You’re laying it on thick Mr. Littrell.” She giggles.  
Brian doesn’t answer her as he begins to kiss her. “I’ve been thinking about coming home to you all day, what I would do to you.”  
“What’s that?” She asks.  
He doesn’t answer he just continues kissing her. He stops for about a heartbeat and looks at the love of his life smiling back at him.   
“Why are you so happy?” He asks.  
“Because you’re with me. I love you with all my heart. You are everything to me.”   
Brian notices the tears in her eyes. “Our first Christmas as a married couple. Can you believe it? I’m one lucky man.”   
They both look over at the Christmas tree and the fire crackling in the fire place. “Well lucky man, you might be getting lucky tonight.” She grins.  
Stacey’s door bell rings. She instinctively knows it is Alex. She silently laughs at herself for being so nervous. She had no idea what had gotten into her lately. Alex had her thinking things she had never thought about before. She knew she was starting to fall in love with him. She couldn’t help but be a little scared about where this was leading. She didn’t want to get hurt but it might be too late to turn back now.   
Her thoughts are interrupted by the doorbell ringing. Impatient ass! “I’m coming! Keep your shorts on!” She laughs.  
“Hey baby. Ready to go?”  
“Yea I’m ready. Where exactly are we going?” She wonders.  
“I thought we would go to dinner then some dancing.” He answers.  
Stacey doesn’t say anything and just smiles her agreement.  
The couple gets into Alex’s car and drives off. Alex silently hoped she didn’t realize how nervous he was. He knew marrying Stacey felt so right to him. However, he figured convincing her of this would be the biggest challenge. You love her, man. The thought came over him all of a sudden. He had known for awhile he loved Stacey but he wasn’t sure how he could tell her, or if she would believe him. Just say it. He looks over at her sitting in the passenger seat.   
“There’s something I want to say to you.” He says.  
“What’s that?” She asks.  
He takes her hand in his and softly whispers, “I love you.”  
At first, Stacey isn’t sure she heard him right. “What did you say?” she asks.  
“I love you” he says again. Stacey can’t help but notice he looks more than a little on edge and nervous.  
“Are you okay?” She asks.  
“Yea…jeez not exactly the reaction I was hoping for.” He shrugs.  
“I’m sorry, you just seem a little anxious.” She points out.  
“I’ve never said that to anyone before. I didn’t want to screw it up.” He sighs.  
“You didn’t.” She smiles.  
He looks up at her and she says, “I love you too.”  
Brian and Amanda are busy wrapping a few last minute gifts in the living room beside the tree. Brian can tell she has something on her mind.  
“Something wrong?” he asks.  
“No, just thinking…” she answers.  
“Thinking about what?” he asks.  
“I want you to make love to me.” She stares back at him.  
“Did I ever tell you how beautiful you are?” he whispers as he takes her in his arms.  
She doesn’t say anything and deeply kisses him. He begins to kiss her and eases her down onto her back on the floor. With one hand behind her neck, he eases his left hand under her shirt to cup one firm breast and squeezes it gently. “Mmmm….” She lets out a soft moan.  
He continues kissing her and presses his body into hers. She can feel his hard penis pressing against her. The thought of having him inside her was all she could think about. He kissed her again. This time he thrust his tongue inside her mouth hard and fast. She wondered if that was the way he intended to make love to her tonight. However, she soon found out that Brian intended to love her slowly and gently. He removed her shirt and looked down at her for a minute in just her bra.  
“Beautiful…” he breathes in her ear. He then begins kissing her neck all the way down to the top of her breast. He giggles. “It’s this bra that’s the problem.” He smiles.  
She can’t help but laugh too. He removes it slowly and looks down at her hard pink nipples. “Tell me what you want….” He asks her.   
“I want you to suck them…” she begs breathlessly.  
As if on command, takes one small, round breast in his mouth and begins to suck on the taut pink nub. She is already writhing against him, but he refuses to quit.   
“Your tits are so sexy…”  
“Oh…” she moans as he continues to suck her. Without missing a beat, he takes her other breast in his hand. He squeezes it for a moment and smiles.   
The next thing Amanda knows he puts the nipple in his mouth and begins sucking it gently. He begins kissing a path down to her navel. When he realizes her jeans are still on, he frowns. She can sense what he is thinking and starts to unbutton her pants.   
“Oh, no baby…that’s my job…” He unbuttons her pants and puts his hand behind her back. He eases her up just enough to pull her pants down. Her panties soon followed. He starts to kneel down between her legs but instead he quickly removes his own shirt, pants, and boxers.   
“In a hurry?” She asks.  
“I just want to feel your body next to mine. Just skin on skin.” He answers.  
He takes her in his arms. For a moment he just holds her there and looks into her eyes. Seeing the love and passion in his eyes is almost too much for Amanda as her eyes fill up with tears.   
“I love you.” He whispers.  
“I love you.” She smiles back at him.  
He begins kissing her again and running his fingers through her hair. He presses his hard penis against her waiting vagina. “Mmmm….” She moans again.  
“Are you ready?” he asks gently.  
“Yes…” she breathes.  
“Let me see how ready you are….” He reaches down and dips one finger into her hot wet pussy. She instinctively thrusts into his hand, aching for release. He finds the hard pink nub and begins to stroke it gently. The pressure is building as she continues to writhe against him. Soon, he finds her small wet hole and pushes one finger inside.  
“Ooooohhhhh.” She moans.  
Realizing she is close to the edge, he pushes two fingers inside and slowly starts to move in and out. “I want to make you cum so hard….”  
“God…I’m so wet…I want you so bad…..” She begs.  
Brian doesn’t let up as he continues to push his finger in and out, in and out. He begins massaging her clit and moving his finger in and out. Amanda starts grinding her hips against him, begging for release.   
“Ooooohhhhh shit!” She moans as the climax takes over her body. She wraps her arms around him trying to catch her breath.   
Giving her little time to recover, he kisses her again. His tongue loved her mouth the way his fingers had loved her just moments before. He cups her bottom and pulls her close to him. With one gentle thrust, he is inside her.  
“Ah yes…you feel so good…” he breathes.  
“Oh God….Oh baby….” She moans.  
He continues to move in and out gradually picking up speed. Her thrusts met his thrusts.  
“More! Harder!” She begs.  
He grunts and begins to pound her swollen hole over and over again. She can feel his breath coming hard against her chest. Her body urged him on, anticipating each thrust just before it happened.   
“Oh…..” she sighs.  
Brian could tell she was on the verge of complete release. He watched as her breasts bounced up and down as her breath became more and more labored. Suddenly he grabbed one and squeezed it. He brought the swollen pink nub to his lips and sucked hard.   
“Oooohhh….” She sighs in both pleasure and agony.   
“I love your tits” he whispers.  
Amanda mutters something under her breath. Before Brian could wonder what she said, he hears her scream.  
“OOOOHHHHHH!!!!!!!” She moans her release.  
As her muscles tighten around him, he also finds his release and fills her with hot liquid. He pulls out and takes her gently in his arms. For a moment neither of them say anything. Then Amanda hears him curse under his breath.  
“What’s wrong?” She asks.  
“The condoms are upstairs.” He whispers.  
She stops for a moment and then laughs a little.  
“That’s ok.” She reassures him.  
“Look, I’m…” he starts to apologize.  
“Don’t you think it would be nice to have a baby?” She asks with a smile.  
“So soon?” He asks.  
“Sure, why not?” She shrugs.  
He sighs, “Oh Amanda, I love you.”  
“I know, what’s not to love?” She giggles.  
After spending a romantic day together, Nick has an important question for Howie.  
“When do you want to tell them?” Nick asks.  
“Tell who?” Howie replies sleepily.  
“You know who…everyone. They will find out eventually…” Nick sighs.  
“What do you think they will say?” Howie wonders aloud.  
“They’re our friends. I don’t think they will be negative about it.” Nick reassures him.  
“You’re probably right…” Howie trails off.  
“There is that party Amanda and Brian are having on Christmas Eve. How about then?” Nick is barely able to conceal the excitement in his voice.  
“Ok.” Howie quietly agrees.  
Nick can’t help but wonder if Howie shares his enthusiasm.   
The next morning….  
“Remind me again why I volunteered to host this party?!” Amanda shouts at no one in particular.  
“How can I help?” Brian giggles.  
“There are two dozen snowman cookies that need to be iced and decorated over on the dining room table…get crackin!”  
“Um, Amanda, you do realize that there will only be you and me, Stacey and Alex, and Howie, Nick, and their dates…if they bring a date…”  
“Oh shit! We’re going to run out of cookies! I need reinforcements!”  
At that very moment, Stacey’s phone rings. She laughs knowing exactly who it will be.   
“Hi Amanda. Freaking out yet?”  
“Well you don’t have to be so smug! I just need a little help….but if you’re too busy….”  
Stacey knew this guilt trip all too well. “Be there in five minutes.”  
Between the two of them they got all of the food ready for the party with a half hour to spare.   
“Thanks.” Amanda smiled.  
“No problem. You should have asked sooner.” Stacey laughs.  
******************************  
Howie picks Nick up right on time before the party. He can’t hide the fact that he is deep in thought.   
“Is something wrong?” Nick asks.  
“No, why?” Howie asks while staring blankly out the window.   
“No reason…” Nick trails off. He can’t help but wonder why Howie doesn’t seem as excited as he is about telling everyone the news.   
“When do you want to tell them?” Howie asks.  
“I thought we could tell them when we get there. They are already going to be wondering why we came together.” Nick answers.  
“Good point”. Howie’s heart starts to race. Why am I so terrified? Isn’t this what I have always wanted?   
Howie has little time to wonder about anything as they pull into the driveway. It was now or never. Suddenly Howie found himself wishing it was never. Amanda answers the door.  
“Hi guys. Didn’t expect you both at once…come on in!” She smiles.  
Nick looks around and realizes that everyone else is already there. It was the perfect time! Brian, Amanda, Stacey, and AJ all stare at the two of them with questioning eyes.   
“What’s up with you two?” AJ asks, never one to keep his mouth shut.  
“Uh, well, we have something to tell you all…” Nick starts to talk. He turns to look at Howie, but is surprised to find that he isn’t there. He looks out the window and sees him speeding out of the driveway. What the fuck? He runs outside but all he sees is the back of Howie’s car. How the hell am I getting home you fucking ass hole?   
A.J. follows him outside scratching his head. “Dude, what the hell just happened?”   
“I wish I knew.” Nick shrugs.  
“Want to tell me what you were going to say in there?” He smiles knowingly.  
Nick looks at him and says, “You know don’t you?”  
“I’ve had my suspicions for awhile, yes.” A.J. shrugs.  
“I guess it doesn’t matter now.” Nick looks down at the dirt.  
“I’ve known Howie for years. It’s going to take some time. He has always worried about what other people will think.” He reassures them.  
“Yea, I guess…” Nick shakes his head.  
“We should probably go back inside by now Amanda is freaking out that no one is going to stay for the party…”  
“Well looks like I will need a ride tonight.” Nick rolls his eyes.  
“I got ya bro.” AJ answers as he puts his hand on Nick’s shoulder.  
“What are we going to tell them about Howie practicing for the Indy 500?” Nick rolls his eyes.  
“Just tell them he has the flu and shit his pants….”   
“Considering the fact that he ditched me I would be happy to say he shit his pants.” Nick says with a laugh.   
******************  
Oh shit…what did I just do? Howie thought to himself. I totally fucking blew it. I am the biggest coward. He will never forgive me. He looked down at his phone. Maybe I should call him…In the end he chickens out again and just sends Nick a text.   
After telling everyone that Howie was, um, sick and had to hurry home, Nick is surprised to feel his phone vibrating in his pocket. He looks at it and reads to himself, I’m sorry.  
Howie feels his phone vibrate in his hand and is filled with hope. Maybe he will understand… He is disappointed when he reads, you should be, coward. Though he knew the words were true they still stung.   
Back at the party, Nick doesn’t have much time to think about his own predicament as AJ is getting everyone’s attention.   
“Everyone, I have something I want to say…” He announces. Stacey looks back at him wondering what on earth is going on. As everyone looks on, he clears his throat.  
“I’ve fallen in love with an amazing girl and I couldn’t wait any longer to ask her a very important question….”  
Stacey looks on in astonished horror as AJ gets down on one knee. “Will you marry me?” He asks.  
An audible gasp fills the air. No one can believe what they are watching. Without saying anything, Stacey promptly walks out the front door red faced. Amanda stares after her, but knows better than to follow. She knew that now was not the time to try and talk to Stacey. Instead she turns around to find Alex sitting on the floor, in shock, still holding the ring box. Now the only people left at Amanda and Brian’s Christmas party are Amanda, Brian, a devastated AJ and Nick, and a confused Kevin.   
“Um, are we going to eat?” Kevin asks, still befuddled.  
“Sure, why not?” Amanda answers.  
At that, AJ storms out the front door and speeds out of the driveway.   
Meanwhile….  
“Damn it!” Stacey shouts at no one in particular. “First my moron boyfriend decides to propose and ruin my night and now my stupid car decides to break down…I knew I should have gotten that piece of shit ass alternator fixed…” With no other options, since she left her cell phone at Amanda’s house when she left in a hurry, Stacey starts walking down the road. About five minutes later in a black SUV drives up with none other than Alex driving it.   
“Get in the car!” He shouts at her.  
“No!” Stacey yells, still keeping her eyes forward. She didn’t care if her feet hurt from the wedges she was wearing and she was getting soaked from the rain drops that were now steadily falling on her head.  
“I said get in the God damn car!” Alex demands.  
“No! I don’t have to do anything you say! Go screw yourself!” She fires back.  
“I’d rather screw you….” Alex yells.  
“That’s never going to happen! Drop dead!” She retorts stubbornly.  
“I’d like to after you humiliated me in front of all of our friends.” He says just loud enough to be heard over the car engine.  
At that point, she says nothing and just keeps walking.  
“You’re going to kill yourself walking in those shoes now get in the damn car! I just want to take you home! After that I’ll drop dead if you wish.” He replies with a hint of sarcasm.  
“Fine! But only because it is raining and cold out here!” She gives in.  
Stacey gets in the car and looks into the eyes of the man who had the nerve to propose to her after only four months of dating.  
“Why did you do that? What in the world made you think it was even close to the right time to do something like that? Are you on drugs?” She demands.  
“Drugs? Honey, don’t go there. I don’t know. It just felt right. I want us to be together.” He shrugs.  
“Fine. Be together. That doesn’t mean we have to get married.” She groans.  
“Ok. Just forget I ever brought it up.” He suggests.  
“Right” Stacey rolls her eyes.  
“Come on, I don’t want to fight. I love you. I’m sorry I tried to take things too fast. This is new to me too.” He shrugs.  
“I guess I forgive you.” She concedes.  
That’s when they look in the rear view mirror and discover that TMZ has been filming them.  
Later that night…  
Amanda is flipping through TV channels and contemplating the fact that her party could not have been a bigger disaster. She notices that Access Hollywood is on and they are showing a video taken by TMZ of Stacey and Alex screaming at each other on the side of the road.   
“Brian, get in here!” She yells  
“What?” He asks with a mouth full of toothpaste. He doesn’t have to wonder for long when he sees what is on his TV. He sits down next to his wife, shakes his head, and squeezes her hand.  
“So, the dinner party went well right?” Brian asks with an ornery grin.  
“Very funny!” Amanda promptly smacks him with a bed pillow. He grabs the pillow and throws it on the floor. He takes her face in his hands and promptly begins kissing her. The evening was not a total loss after all.  
Back at Stacey’s Apartment…  
“So catch me up, are we still dating?” Alex asks.  
“Yes we’re still dating. I’m just not ready to get married right now.”   
“Ok…are you still coming to meet my parents tomorrow?”  
“Yes, I will meet your parents. See you tomorrow night at 5.” She smiles.  
“Great, see you then.”  
The evening ends with a chaste kiss on the cheek that is still enough to get Stacey’s motor running as she watches Alex’s car pulling out of her driveway.  
……  
Howie decides that he has to try and call Nick after the way he acted. After four rings, it goes to voicemail. Of course he isn’t going to answer. I completely screwed this whole thing up. There is nothing left for him to do but drive over there and bang on the door until he convinces Nick to answer. Howie has a feeling it is going to be a long night.  
Ding Dong. Nick is less than surprised to hear the doorbell ring. He looks out the peep hole, though he didn’t need to to know that it is indeed Howard at the door.   
“Go away, Howard. I’m not in the mood!” Nick shouts  
“Come on, at least lets talk about it.” Howard pleads  
“Oh, now you want to talk. You picked a good time. No one else is here but me so you don’t have to be ashamed.” Nick retorts.  
“Come on, you know it isn’t that simple!” Howie yells at the door.  
Suddenly, the door opens and Nick is looking into Howie’s eyes. He is obviously upset. “Actually it is that simple. I love you. I’m not ashamed to tell people that. But you are. So, we have a problem. I can’t be with someone who is embarrassed to tell people how they feel about me. When you’re ready, let me know. Until then, we don’t have anything to talk about.” The door promptly shuts in Howard’s face. Howard drives home, prepared for a long and miserable night.  
….  
Stacey’s doorbell rings at 5 o’clock sharp. “His ass is always on time” Stacey mutters under her breath. She opens the door to find Alex smiling from one side of his face to the other.   
“You look great”, Alex tells her with a wink.  
“Thanks. Are we ready to hit the road?” Stacey asks.  
“Why are you in such a hurry?” Alex wonders.  
“I’m a little nervous and would like to get going. Do you have a problem with that?” Stacey answers, a bit shorter than she meant to.  
“No, no problem, babe. Let’s get this show on the road.” Alex shrugs and leads her to the Dodge Caliber.  
Forty-five minutes later, Alex turns into a long driveway that leads them to the sprawling estate of his mom and step-dad.   
“Isn’t this great? I bought it for them last year. It felt so good. Tom is the best thing that has ever happened to my mom and the closest thing to a dad I have. It was the least I could do.”  
“I understand. I have to say it is impressive.”  
They arrive at the front of the house faster than Stacey would have liked. It was time to go in and face the music. She is relieved when Alex slips his hand around hers and gives her a reassuring nod before they ring the door bell. They are greeted by a short red-headed woman that looked to be in her mid fifties, though Stacey knew she was in her sixties. Before she can react one way or another, Stacey is wrapped in the arms of the short, spunky red head that apparently already knows her name.   
“There’s my new daughter in law! Tom I swear I didn’t think this boy would ever settle down now look at this pretty young thing on his arm!” She exclaims.  
“Um…” Stacey raises her finger and tries to correct the woman that was well and truly all over her from the minute she walked in the door.  
“Denise, let the poor kids get in the door before you frighten this girl.” The tall man behind Alex’s mother finally speaks.  
He walks up beside Alex and gives him a hearty pat on the back, like any father would his son. The look of pride on his face let Stacey know that blood was not a factor. These two were father and son.   
“I’m Tom, Alex’s Dad.” He announces proudly, looking into Stacey’s eyes.  
“Nice to meet you...” Stacey mumbles.  
Before Stacey can say anything else, they are again interrupted by the spunky red head. “Oh sugar, where are my manners! I’m Denise, Alex’s mom. It’s so nice to finally meet you darlin’! He’s told us so much about you!” She exclaims. “Well, get your butts on in here, I’m cooking enough food to feed a small army.”  
She wasn’t kidding. By the time they finally sat down to dinner there was enough food in front of them to feed everyone on a tour bus.   
“You’ll have to excuse my mom,” Alex offered, “she pretty much always makes too much food when I come home.”  
Halfway through the first course, Denise blurts, “So tell me, have you too kids set a date? And what about grandchildren? You know Alex is my only and so that puts all the pressure on you too to give me grandkids before I die.”  
“Well, actually…” Stacey tries to explain but is once again interrupted, this time by Alex.  
“Well mom, we actually…” Alex trails off at the sight of the look of concern on his mom’s face.  
“The thing is Mom, we weren’t sure yet about a date. We want to take our time.” Alex concedes.  
“Sugar, don’t take too much time. This pretty young thing is liable to slip right through your fingertips and I like her! Don’t you let this one go!” She then gobbles a big forkful of mashed potatoes.  
The rest of the meal is finished mostly in silence, with the occasional inquiry from Denise. Stacey can’t help but notice that Tom isn’t too much of a talker, and seems content to let his wife jabber on about whatever strikes her fancy. She had to respect a guy like that. She also can’t help but notice that Alex continues to hold her left hand under the table. She knows it is because he doesn’t want them to see she is not wearing a ring on her finger. Stacey and Alex make it through the evening alive and are putting their coats on to head to the car when each of them are cornered, Alex by Tom and Stacey by Denise.  
When Stacey suddenly finds herself being led back into the kitchen still holding her coat she doesn’t know what to think. She stares back at Denise similar to a deer caught in the headlights.   
“Have a seat dear, I think it’s time we had a little chat.” Denise urges.  
This doesn’t help Stacey’s anxiety one bit.   
“Okay, um, what’s up?” Stacey replies meekly.  
“I couldn’t help but notice despite my son’s best efforts to hide it that you don’t have a ring on your finger.”   
“You know? He kept my hand under the table…”Stacey wonders aloud.  
“Honey, I know that boy inside and out. I can always tell when he’s keeping something from me. So, what gives? What’s the story?” She asks.  
….  
Alex doesn’t understand what is going on as Tom leads him into the den.   
“Dad, what’s the matter?” He asks  
“Son, I couldn’t help but notice that the girl you brought home that you say is your fiancé does not have a ring on her finger. Now I know you. You’ve never been shy buying pretty things for the ladies you date. I just can’t see you not giving your fiancé a ring. Tell me, what’s going on?”  
“I can never get anything past you guys can I? I suppose I know what Mom and Stacey are talking about as well. I didn’t want to say anything because it’s a little embarrassing.”  
“No need to be embarrassed with us, son. What happened?” Tom reassures him.  
“I did ask her to marry me. I guess it freaked her out because she ended up walking out and I followed her.” Alex Shrugs.  
“Ah, yes, TMZ.”  
At that, Alex’s face turns ten shades of red.  
“Oh, don’t worry, son. Your mother didn’t see that. I just happened across the link on twitter one night. I just had to satisfy my curiosity.” He winks.  
….  
“He did ask me to marry him. I’m just not sure I’m ready for that yet. I haven’t given him an answer. When we got here and saw that you thought we were engaged, I decided to pretend we were.” Stacey shrugs.  
“I’m sure with a great deal of prodding from my son. He can be pretty convincing when he wants to be. I guess the real question I want to ask you is do you love him? He’s been let down by people he cares about before, his father being one. Up until he met you he had never even mentioned marrying anyone. I hope you’ll forgive a worrying mother. I just don’t want to see him hurt.”  
“I love him. I wouldn’t hurt him.” Stacey reassures her.  
“Alright then, well you two drive careful and if you do say yes be sure to let me know so we can hammer out the details together, ya hear?”   
….  
Alex covers his face with his hands.   
“I take it you two kids worked it out? I mean, you got her to come here.” Tom says.  
“We did but I’m not sure we’ll be getting married.” Alex groans.  
“Well, I’m going to give you some advice my dad gave to me, now listen closely…”  
Alex looks on in anticipation.  
“Women are CRAZY!”   
Both men start laughing. They head back out to the kitchen where Stacey and Denise are waiting.


End file.
